Heaven Sent
by weirdLotus
Summary: Inspired by the Legend of Tanabata. Orihime is an "ANGEL" who had a business on earth, and that is to vanquish SINS, monsters that make people evil. One day her robe was accidentally stolen by Kurosaki Ichigo, a regular delinquent looking high school boy. Orihime is now his property but what happens when her powers and duties are transferred over to him! AU
1. Chapter 1: A Fateful Meeting

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach and its characters. They are the property and original creations of Tite Kubo.

**Chapter One: A Fateful Meeting**

Kurosaki Ichigo is a 17 year old boy. He lived a simple life. His dad's a doctor and he had two sisters. He studies in Karakura Academy. Although he may seem like a delinquent, it didn't matter to him. It would mean no one would care to bother him.

"Oi, Ichigo!" called out a red head. The tattoos on his forehead were very distinct. He was starting to think that he might be a delinquent for hanging out with this sort of person.

"Ichigo!" exclaimed a petite girl with jet black hair as she slapped him on the head. "Quit spacing out."

"What the hell do you want? Quit slapping me out of nowhere?" he yelled. 'Yup, these people are the ones that keep me in trouble,' he thought sitting back on his chair.

"You shouldn't be spacing out. Anyway, how bout we go to karaoke and hang out tonight?" said the red head.

"Yeah, Renji and I thought about it, since they're dismissing us before lunch why don't we just go and enjoy ourselves for a change?" added the petite female.

"Seriously Rukia? Even you? Ain't that Student Council President Brother of yours gonna get mad?" informed Ichigo.

Rukia pouted at his comment, then blushed slightly, "Onii-sama allowed me to go today. So come on."

Ichigo raised an eyebrow at her comment. He could never really say no to this person. The one he had unrequited feelings for.

"Fine," he finally said as they all settled for class. He watched as Renji and Rukia chatted. He sighed and stirred his thoughts away.

It hadn't been long since his two close friends started dating. It was kind of gross how they were mushy and lovey-dovey about it. Except the pain in Ichigo's chest wouldn't subside even at the thought. He had to show he was happy for them.

He saw a flash of light from far away. He stared at it for a moment and concluded that it might've been lightning and nothing else. He secretly wanted it to be a shooting star. "Wish I could just find something to think about than let this jealousy stir up in me," he whispered to himself.

He was now walking with the couple to the arcade. He denied being the chaperon of the two but it was starting to look like it. It was a good thing that Renji was the type not to make people out of place so he began a conversation with him as Rukia was distracted by the beautiful dresses over at a boutique.

"When are you going to get a girlfriend?" Renji asked out of the blue. Ichigo almost choked on his own saliva. "What the hell man? I'm not thinking of that just yet."

"What about that Tatsuki chick? She seems nice." Renji teased.

"Seriously, what the fuck? She's just a childhood friend. Quit asking stupid questions you stupid baboon."

Renji got annoyed and tried to head lock Ichigo, when they suddenly heard a loud crash coming from the other side of the street.

"What was that?" asked Rukia suddenly coming out of the boutique still wearing the dress she tried on. Another loud crashing sound and smoke engulfed the whole street. The clerk frantically cried out to Rukia that she had to pay for the dress while running out in a panic.

"Let's go check it out," insisted Ichigo.

"Are you fucking crazy?" said Renji, but he was too late, a glimpse of orange hair just passed by him and disappeared in the smoke.

"Really, that guy just acts on impulse," sighed Rukia. "Let's go Renji, before he gets into some kind of trouble." The two followed their friend in the confusion.

Ichigo adjusted his eyes to look at all the commotion. He gasped in disbelief as the street beyond the wall of smoke was clear except for a flash of auburn hair swiftly running to one side. He saw that she was up against a person, or what seemed to be as it was slowly evolving into a hideous monster.

"What the-?" he cried.

The man-looking-monster suddenly turned his way. It's mouth drooling with green slime.

"Watch out!" cried the girl as she threw her arms forward to Ichigo's direction. "Santen Kesshun, I reject!" Three lights flashed form her hair to form a shield in front of him.

The shield was placed in time as the monster shot its slime towards Ichigo.

*.*.*.*

"What the hell? Where did that orange top go?" exclaimed Renji through the smoke. People were running in the opposite direction. The crowd was now thinning to where he was headed but still no sign of Ichigo.

"Renji!" cried Rukia. "Did you find him?"

"No. That fucking bastard better not get his ass in trouble or else I'll kick his ass."

The two continued with their search not knowing that Ichigo wasn't as far away as they thought.

*.*.*.*

"Who are you?" cried the auburn haired girl. "How did you pass the barrier?"

"Huh? What the hell are you talking about?" yelled Ichigo. "What about you? Who the hell are you and what the hell is this?"

She directed her hands towards the monster, "Koten Zanshun! I reject!" A flash of orange light was directed towards the monster and its arm was sliced off clean.

Ichigo backed away in surprise. What started out as a normal day, ended up in an unexplainable mess.

The monster cried in pain and fell to the ground. The girl called back her powers that seemed to have come from her hairpins. As Ichigo finally took a good long look at her, he saw that she was wearing a sleeveless white and pink yukata. It was short just up above her knees showing her fair legs. She wore pink fingerless gloves that came up to her elbow and a shawl like Japanese robe with bells attached to each end, floating elegantly between her arms. She went over to Ichigo in a frantic manner which was a sudden change from her serious character a while ago.

"Are you hurt?" she asked.

"Uhhh… no," stuttered Ichigo as he checked his body for any bruises or cuts.

"That's a relief," sighed the auburn haired girl as she placed her hands on her chest, bountiful chest so to speak. "By the way, who are you?"

"Err… Kurosaki Ichigo," he replied scratching his head. He suddenly jolted up right when he saw the monster stand up and reach for the girl.

"Look out," he cried as he pushed her aside, the monster suddenly grabbing him instead. "Shit," he said as he tried to struggle free from its grip.

"Tsubaki! Koten Zanshun! I reject!" she bellowed terrified for Ichigo's life.

The last of the monster's arms was cut and fell to the ground with a thud. Ichigo manage to free himself from the now weightless grip and run off to the side. This time he felt the bruises on his skin and a few cracked bones.

A final cry from the auburn haired girl cut the monster in half and it disappeared into the sky in the form of black dust. What surprised Ichigo even more rather than no one other than him being there to witness such feats was the fact that he saw a man lying down on the ground unscathed as the particles disappeared into the air.

"Who's that?" he stammered trying to find the words to say.

"He's a normal business man," replied the auburn beauty. "He was possessed by a SIN, the monster you just saw. But he's all right now."

The girl laid a hand on the man's forehead and a flash of orange light enveloped around him. She turned to Ichigo and quickly went over to him. "Soten Kisshun, I reject."

An orange dome lit up over Ichigo enveloping him in warm light. He felt the bruises and broken bones start to heal. 'What is this power?' he thought. The sudden events that occurred in the last few minutes made him think that he might be crazy. He shifted his head back and forth to see that the smoke beyond the clearing was starting to thin.

"I'm sorry about this, I don't know how you got in the barrier but I have to erase your memory as well," the girl spoke in a regretful tone.

"Wait, I'm not gonna let you, I have so many things going on in my mind and I want them answered."

The girl frantically recovered her dome back to her hairpins and tried to reach for Ichigo's forehead. "I'm sorry, but I'm running out of time!"

"No!" yelled Ichigo as he held her hand. 'What? Why is it he can touch me in this form?' she thought as she struggled to fight but his strength was much greater than hers.

The smoke was starting to clear and the girl was already in a panic. 'I have to leave fast or the spell won't work on the people surrounding this place.' She quickly backed away from Ichigo. "You must forget all about this. No one will believe you even if you tell someone about it," she said as she set off to fly away.

"Hey! Wait!" yelled Ichigo as he ran after her. She quickly flew up but Ichigo grabbed her dress. She pulled it up in a panic dropping her robe in the process but her mind was too preoccupied to the fact that she needed to get away. Ichigo grabbed the robe and called out to her but the next thing he knew she was gone.

At the same time the crowd that had been panicking earlier was now in a normal state. Everyone was busy doing their business on the streets. Even the man that had been the victim of the monster was now standing in front of a small crowd who had thought he felt ill out of stress.

"Ichigo!" yelled Renji from behind him. "There you are!"

Ichigo turned to look at his friend who was out of breath, probably from all that running.

"Where've you been?" he asked. Ichigo snapped out of his trance and quickly held Renji by the collar.

"Hey, where's Rukia? Did you see what happened? The girl, the monster, smoke!"

"What are you talking about?" asked Renji in confusion as he winced at his friend's tight grip. "Rukia's back at the store paying for the dress. What girl? What monster? And what smoke?"

Ichigo loosened his grip at Renji. "Dude, are you okay? Have you been smoking weed or something?"

"No, nothing's wrong," replied Ichigo as he remembered the girl's last words, 'No one will believe you even if you tell someone about it.'

"Let's go then." Renji said tapping Ichigo on the shoulders.

"Yeah," he replied as he looked at the white garment he clutched in his hands.

.end

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:**

Hello everyone! This is my first ever fan fiction and I'm happy to say it's about my OTP, ICHIHIME! I've been a fan for a long time but I haven't really tried showing my support for their relationship.

I hope that they don't go OOC, but please do tell me if they are. And if you think I'm being unfair or doing injustice to the characters, really tell me, I don't want to upset anybody.

R&R~


	2. Chapter 2: An Angel Without Wings

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach and its characters. They are the property and original creations of Tite Kubo.

**Chapter Two: An Angel without Wings**

Ichigo stared out the classroom window. The events of yesterday ran through his mind like a high definition movie. He looked at the white silk robe, with bells attached at each end, he held in his hands. The girl had dropped it in a panic. He quickly placed it in his bag and sighed.

He scratched his head in irritation. 'What the hell am I thinking? This is none of my business. I shouldn't be involved in such crazy things,' he thought.

"If my class is that uninteresting to you Kurosaki-san, then maybe you should just go stand outside," said the teacher slapping her book on his desk.

"Uggh," grunted Ichigo as he decided not to argue. He stood up and left the room, Rukia and Renji eyeing him as he did.

He stood outside the room staring into the blank wall in front of him. The windows reflected the bright rays of the sun. He couldn't stop his mind from retracing the events. What bothered him most was the fact that he was the only one who witnessed it. 'I don't know how you got into the barrier…' the girl's voice echoed in his mind.

"Ah there you are!" said the same familiar voice.

"I can't believe I'm hearing voices now," he said to himself. His jaw suddenly dropped as he saw the same auburn hair and face smiling at him from across the wall.

His heart almost leapt out from his chest as the girl slipped through the wall. "Uhhh… Errr… Whhhaaa…" was all Ichigo could form out of shock.

"Now then, I've finally found you. Will you please return my robe?" she asked.

"Huh?" Ichigo stammered.

"I need that robe to get back to heaven," she replied.

"Heaven?" repeated Ichigo. "Wait a minute-!" but before he could come up with the next words to say, the girl shuffled towards him and started to pat his whole body, checking his pockets and shirt for her lost robe.

"Where are you hiding it?" she asked innocently patting him touching his back pockets making him jolt.

"What the fuck are you doing? Stop it!" he exclaimed grabbing her hands. Ichigo was bright red in embarrassment.

The girl eyed his hands making him let go. "Why is it that you can touch me?" she asked.

"What?" he uttered. He was cut off by the door sliding and his teacher tapping her feet.

"What are you doing Kurosaki? So noisy!" she interjected glaring at him.

"Misato-sensei, I swear this girl was being weird," he said pointing a finger at the busty girl.

"What girl? I wonder who's being weird here," said Misato looking over at an empty space to where Ichigo was pointing.

Ichigo turned to his left and looked at the girl who was definitely still there and smiling at him.

"That's it, if you're not feeling well, why don't you just go to the infirmary to get some rest," Misato said. She flicked her hand over her shoulder muttering, "Seriously, kids these days."

Ichigo started to walk swiftly away from the girl. 'That's it, I'm just being crazy. The events of yesterday just got me imagining weird things.'

"Ummm… Kurosaki-kun?" said the girl, floating behind him keeping up with his pace. Ichigo ignored her and quickened his pace until he was now on the run. "Waah!" she cried out from behind him.

Ichigo panted as he reached the school's empty rooftop. "Kurosaki-kun?" he heard the same voice. He yelped and turned to look at the smiling face before him.

"What do you want? Who are you?" he yelled in frustration.

The girl looked at him in confusion. "You already forgot? I was the one from yesterday. You see, you took my robe and I kind of need it back to get to heaven."

"That's not what I meant!" he yelled.

"Oh… I'm Orihime. But really, my name does not matter anymore as I'll be erasing your memories soon enough," she informed him.

Ichigo's expression intensified. "I'm not gonna let you."

"Why?"

"Why?" Ichigo repeated. He searched for the answer but couldn't come up with one.

"I mean, why do you want to be involved? Isn't it better for me to erase your memory?"

Ichigo stared at the confused Orihime. 'She's right, why do I insist not to erase my memories.'

"I'm not giving the robe back until you answer some of my questions," he suddenly tried to change the topic.

"When you give it back I'll still erase your memories. So what's the point?" Orihime said pointing a finger up to her chin.

Ichigo couldn't find another excuse. This girl was right from the beginning. He doesn't have a reason to be involved with her. And the things that had happened could just be wiped off from his mind. Then he thought back to his earlier self, the one who couldn't get over a single girl, the one who lived a life in a repeated cycle. He gave up and looked at her still staring at him with those doe eyes trying to understand his earlier statement.

"All right, I give up, Just take my memories already, your robe's in my bag so take it before I find it there," he said readying himself to be cleansed of yesterday's events. He closed his eyes as Orihime reached for him.

Orihime came up to him and touched his forehead. "Well?" he said.

"EH?" exclaimed Orihime. Ichigo peeked and saw that the girl was standing really close to him.

"Wha-what's wrong?" he stuttered almost falling back, his face flushed.

"I can't use my powers," she said eyes welling up with tears.

"What?"

Suddenly a puff of smoke appeared between them. A man in a formal suit appeared. He would've looked very formal except he wore a bucket hat with white and green stripes and a geta which definetly ruined his look.

He opened his fan and placed it beneath his nose. "My, my Orihime-chan," he stated. "It seems your grace period has expired."

"Eh? What do you mean Urahara-san?" she asked tears falling down her face.

"It means," Urahara said pointing his fan towards Ichigo. "That this man right here is now your owner. He's your new Kami. Therefore, your powers have been revoked."

"Why?" she exclaimed.

"It's punishment. For the meantime, since your robes are now owned by this man, he'll be doing your duties for you."

Ichigo looked at Orihime then back at the man. "Me? Do her duties? What?"

"Ohoho, yes, yes, exactly," confirmed Urahara. "By the way, I'm Kisuke Urahara, the original Kami of this angel right here."

"I don't—"

"Let me explain," Urahara interrupted. "An ANGEL, such as her, is a being with extraordinary abilities. She works for my company, HEAVEN. You see, there have been viruses possessing people turning them into monsters. We call them SINS, and ANGELS must cleanse this world of SINS. Are you getting the picture?"

"No… I," stammered Ichigo.

"Well, whatever, I don't really need to explain everything to you, you'll find out for yourself," Urahara said closing his fan. "Now then, the robe is the contract. The angel uses it as identity that she's an agent of the company and thus draws her power from it. In the case that an angel loses the robe, she is given a 24-hour grace period."

"And in the case someone obtains the robe," he continued his expression becoming more serious. "…which is a rare case, a very rare case indeed. The person shall become that Angel's owner. This is because the recognition device in the robe, the source will move to you. It's a failsafe plan so that the source of the angel's power will not get lost or put in the hands of the wrong entity."

"But, how would you know?" Ichigo asked trying to process the sudden flow of information.

"It has a recognition device. When the robe detects that you're not an enemy it transfers the source to you. If you are, then it simply deteriorates and acts as a tracking device, except, the Angel would lose her powers and her life." Urahara answered.

Ichigo fell silent at the man's last words. He looked at Orihime who was still quite gloomy at her predicament. 'That girl would've lost her life if their enemy had obtained her robe.'

"In any case, Kurosaki-san, right?" continued Urahara, "you'll simply take up her job while she gradually obtains her powers. This is the punishment both of you have to go through. If you simply returned her robe and had your memories erased, things wouldn't be so complicated. Alas, you're a stubborn young man. I just ask that you take care of my company's angel."

He gestured over to Orihime and patted her on the back. He looked at Ichigo again with an intense glare and said, "Take care. If you die, she dies with you. You better not become a liability for me." He opened his fan again and disappeared in a puff of smoke leaving his "Well then, Ta-ta~" in the empty space where he last stood.

Ichigo looked at the mortified Orihime. 'Her life depends on me.' He thought as the facts settled in and his stomach churned at ringing of the school bell signaling the end of classes.

.end

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:**

I'm just excited to bring out chapter two. Let me know what you think. Oh and I want to assure everyone that this is Ichihime. Ichigo liking Rukia is just an element of the story, just to add drama. I'm also incorporating a few things based on the original.

I don't own BLEACH… I think I've established that at the beginning, so don't sue me, please.

R&R~


	3. Chapter 3: Oh Kami Why!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach and its characters. They are the property and original creations of Tite Kubo.

**Chapter Three: Oh Kami Why?**

Ichigo slammed his door shut, threw his bag on his bed and hit his head hard on the nearest table.

"Uwaah! Kurosaki-kun! What are you doing?" cried Orihime who was just by the door.

Ichigo turned his head towards Orihime. He wore an irritated expression which wasn't far off from how he usually looks. "What are you still doing here? Shouldn't you go back to that company of yours or something?"

"Ahehe, unfortunately, I'll be stuck here for a while until the contract expires," said Orihime non-caringly scratching her head.

"It's not AHEHE! What do you think am I supposed to do with you?" yelled Ichigo as Orihime leaned back at his sudden outburst. He was bothered by the fact that on his way home, everyone had their eyes on her. 'I thought she was supposed to be invisible? Since her powers are gone, she's just like a normal girl,' he thought as he sighed placing his chin on the table.

"Onii-chan? You're home early? Do we have a visitor?" exclaimed Ichigo's sister, Yuzu, from downstairs. Ichigo freaked out and quickly pulled Orihime trying to hide her somewhere, his door opened and he shoved her in the closet just in time.

"A-re? I thought I heard a visitor," Yuzu asked checking the room. "Welcome home Onii-chan."

"Hey Yuzu, I was just, umm, practicing a one act play!" he quickly explained. Yuzu looked at her brother in slight confusion. "Ok, but I was sure I heard a girl talk, must be my imagination then."

As soon as Yuzu turned around, the closet opened slowly making Ichigo jump in surprise. "By the way Onii-chan, dinner will be ready in an hour," said Yuzu turning back to look at Ichigo who was panting in nervousness and leaning at the closet.

"Yeah, sure, I'll be down by then," he said. When the door finally closed and Yuzu's steps were faint, the closet opened and Orihime fell on top of Ichigo.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing? You could've been caught by my sister!" he whispered a yell at her.

"Uwaaah! I'm so sorry!" cried Orihime. Ichigo stood up and offered a hand to help her up. She looked up at the scowling face of her new owner and quickly stood up on her own. "Umm… I'm sorry, I'm fine… ahaha."

Ichigo raised an eyebrow and sat on his desk chair. "Let me get this straight, there's no way that you'll get to leave my side?"

Orihime nodded and blushed at his comment. "And now that your powers are gone, people start to see you now?" Ichigo continued. Orihime merely nodded.

Ichigo sighed heavily; he felt he bit off more than he could chew. 'How am I going to hide her from my family?' he thought exhausted by the mere possibility of his dad finding out a girl had been living in his room.

"Umm… Kurosaki-kun," interrupted Orihime. "We have ways to help you."

"What?" Ichigo stammered.

"Here," said Orihime handing him a call card. It was a hologram type of card which read HEAVEN in one angle with drawn wings on it and the name of the contact person on another angle.

"Hitsugaya Toushiro… Damage Control Agent…" Ichigo read out loud. "I have to call him?"

"Yes," replied Orihime handing him her phone. It was a pink compact flip phone that had wings designed in front.

Ichigo meekly reached for her phone and dialed the numbers rather symbols written on the card which was similar to that of her phone's. He settled the phone on his ear but instead of hearing a voice come out of the other end, a hand appeared followed by an arm, Ichigo freaked and threw the phone away from him, which now revealed the rest of the body parts.

"You called?" asked a short boy. He looked like he was an elementary school kid with silvery white hair and icy blue eyes. He wore a suit similar to that of Urahara.

"What the fuck? How did? What the-?" cried Ichigo. He felt like his brain was about to explode from all the shock.

Hitsugaya merely looked at him then shifted his attention to the angel, Orihime. "I see do I have to erase his memory for you?" he asked.

"Uh, no! He's my new Kami," replied Orihime.

Hitsugaya seemed to have understood the situation. He became more serious than he already is. He picked up the phone and dialed another contact. He raised it in front of him, which Ichigo mentally took note of the next time he'll be using the angel's phone, and light filled the room, another being came out of the phone wearing the same outfit Orihime had on except it was a darker shade of pink and purple, her robe was tied in a ribbon around her waist, she had a bountiful bossom and strawberry blonde hair.

"Matsumoto," Hitsugaya said as the new visitor settled down. She opened her eyes and quickly pounced at Hitsugaya. "Hitsugaya-taichou!" she exclaimed.

"Wait, Matsumoto! Stop this nonsense! We have business to attend to," said the annoyed Hitsugaya shoving the woman who had her chest planted on his face.

"Eh?" said Matsumoto. She looked at Ichigo then to Orihime who seemed happy to see her. "Orihime-chan!" They hugged in unison bossoms bouncing. Ichigo whipped his head to the side ignoring the situation presented to him.

"Anyway, let me introduce myself formally, I'm Hitsugaya Toushiro, Damage control agent at your service. And this here is my angel, Matsumoto Rangiku."

The two of them bowed in formality. "Yeah, nice to meet you, I'm Kurosaki Ichigo," he said trying to think if he sounded formal.

"Well then, moving on, the case of Inoue Orihime," said Hitsugaya who was now holding a clipboard of information on Orihime. Apparently you could dial on the phone and instantly teleport anyone and anything. Ichigo was somehow distracted at the mention of her full name. 'It sounds familiar,' he thought.

"You, Kurosaki Ichigo, is now hereby declared her Kami through ownership of the robe. A Kami's duties is simple, you act as a master and train with your angel. She will guide you on your duties. The contract states that you must defeat at least 500 SINS and claim ownership for a span of 1 year. As you gradually defeat a SIN, the angel's power will also return. Once the contract has been terminated, you'll return to your normal life." Informed Hitsugaya flipping his notes.

"In addition, the life of the Kami is equal to that of the angel, when you are hurt, cut, or emotionally stressed, the angel will also feel it. When you die, she dies with you," he continued eyeing Ichigo. "Do you understand everything so far?"

Ichigo nodded. The gravity of the situation he was in was too difficult to handle.

"Ok, so for our duty, in the event that the Kami is incapable of having his/her angel live with him/her, we'll merely put a haze in your family's eyes. This will allow you to live as you usually do without them having to see her."

"Then what about school?" Ichigo asked. His frustration boiling but the relief that came with it stopped him from reacting too much.

"That's been settled, she'll act as a normal human being, a transferee so to speak," answered Hitsugaya. "Her paper work has been submitted by the CEO, Urahara-san a while ago. She'll be ready to go with you to school tomorrow."

Matsumoto dialed a number on her phone and a set of uniform came out, she handed it to Orihime who settled it along with the rest of the newly summoned wardrobe.

"So the package listed here for everything to be settled will be sent to her phone. It'll include her room, which by the way is invisible to others, her essentials, and of course, your weapon," informed Matsumoto as she checked her phone.

"Well then, now that everything's been explained, I'm hoping you will do your part Kurosaki. It is inevitable that you do her duties in her place. This will insure that your family is safe. If you cross a line, I cannot promise anything," said Hitsugaya as he dialed a number on his phone and opened a portal on the wall.

Ichigo watched as the boy and the woman leave his room. The sudden statement on his family left a pain in his stomach. He had no choice. He had to do this, and do it right.

Orihime's phone rang and she opened it and placed it across her. Multiple packages came out burying Ichigo in it.

"Oi! What's the big idea?" he said shoving a package off him. He was then distracted by a large blue box with gold ornaments designed on it. He opened the box to reveal two silver pistols. It also included a note which read,

"_The day would come when you'd need to use this. I wish I could've been the one to explain everything to you. _

_I have left Urahara-san to explain it. But it would be better if you find out on your own._

_With lots of love,_

_K.M."_

Ichigo stared at the initials for a long time. He merely shoved the thought and placed the letter on his bedside desk. He watched Orihime as she gingerly prepared her things. He suddenly thought of the days to come, but shrugged the feeling of doubt. He was determined to do it, and do it right.

.end

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:**

Thanks to everyone who's been reading and also for the reviews. I'm open for suggestions to make the story better.

Tell me if it's getting boring, I'll try to improve my next chapters.

~ICHIHIME is like Chocolate to me~

R&R~


	4. Chapter 4: The First Victim

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach and its characters. They are the property and original creations of Tite Kubo.

**Chapter Four: The First Victim**

"My name is Inoue Orihime. It's very nice to meet all of you!" Orihime exclaimed introducing herself in a cheerful manner. The boys in the class ogled at her beauty. Her bossom bounced along with her as she walked towards her seat, behind Ichigo.

Ichigo merely glanced at her and ignored her presence. It made Orihime a bit disappointed as she was slowly getting attached to him. She thought of things like, 'I wonder how it'd be like to have a Kami?' and 'His scowl seems kind of cute.'

As Orihime hummed a tune running through her head, Ichigo reminded himself of the facts he had to straighten out.

Flashback

"How do you know when someone is possessed by a SIN?" he asked the auburn haired angel as they walked towards school.

"Hmm… well, the person starts to act very violent and angry," she answered placing a finger to her chin. "And then you'd feel it, like a dark aura rising from that person."

"Is that the only basis?" Ichigo asked further.

"Oh, a person is vulnerable to the virus if he or she is Suuuuper Stressed. What did Hitsugaya-san say, ah, yes, Stress Level 5," she exclaimed shoving her five fingers in front of Ichigo. "And Anger Level 4!" shoving her other hand forming a four.

Ichigo flicked her hands away from his face and continued to walk contemplating on her answers.

End of Flashback

The bell rang informing the students to fill their stomachs for lunch. Ichigo bought bread enough for two people and secretly handed them over to Orihime, well not so secretly.

"Wow, first day of school and you're buying her bread already," commented Renji as he came up their usual spot on the rooftop. Rukia followed after with her bentou in hand, one for her and one for Renji.

"Hi, I'm Kuchiki Rukia, nice to meet you Inoue," Rukia greeted the smiling Orihime. She was eating melon pan which Ichigo handed over to him. Orihime watched as Rukia settled her lunch, she brought out a tube of wasabi paste from inside which made Orihime's eyes sparkle in delight.

"Oi, what's up with you?" asked Ichigo noticing her gawk at the wasabi.

"Umm… may I have some please, Kuchiki-san?" she asked Rukia in an innocent tone.

"Sure, but where are you going to use it on?" she asked as she handed the tube of wasabi paste.

Orihime gleefully grabbed the tube and spread an ample amount on her melon pan. Her three companions watched in horror and astonishment as she took a bite on her bread.

"Are you fucking crazy? Eating that… with that?" yelled Ichigo pulling the wasabi out of her hands. "I doubt it's healthy and even in your diet."

Orihime's eyes watered as she watched Ichigo take away her tube of wasabi. Rukia looked at her and felt warm inside, 'She looks like a cuddly bunny' she thought. "Oi! Ichigo!" she exclaimed slapping Ichigo at the back of his neck. "Just give the girl what she wants."

Renji snickered at him as he reluctantly passed the tube of wasabi and started arguing with Rukia. "Seriously man, it's like you're her guardian or something. Admit it, this girl right here is your girlfriend."

Ichigo threw a punch at Renji who quickly evaded it and laughed heartily at how he reacted. "Shut up! We just live in the same neighborhood! Her family just asked me to keep an eye on her since she's new! Don't go start making rumors you stupid ape!" bellowed Ichigo as he clutched Renji by the collar. Exactly as he and Orihime rehearsed, it was the excuse they'd use in case someone would ask.

Orihime and Rukia laughed at the scene and got to know each other better. Orihime felt contented at her current situation. She felt her heart skip a beat which made her confused. She held her hand to her chest and searched for an explanation but couldn't find the right answer to her stirring emotions. She had never felt this kind of feelings before she met Ichigo. 'What is this warm feeling?' she asked herself.

Suddenly as if lightning had struck her whole body, she felt a darkness rising in the school but didn't know the exact location. "Kurosaki-kun!" she called out. She looked at him with worried eyes and he instantly knew what it was.

He stood up and patted off the crumbs from his bread and headed down the stairs. "Oi! Where are you going?" Renji called out.

"Going to the bathroom. What? Wanna tag along?" he smirked. Ichigo turned swiftly ignoring the dirty look Renji was giving him.

"I… umm… have to go too. I'll meet you back in class, Kuchiki-san, e-to… Abarai-san?" Orihime said worried she might've mentioned Renji's name wrong but was happy to have been given a nod from him. She quickly left and followed Ichigo down the steps.

*.*.*.*

"Well? Where was the direction of the feeling?" asked Ichigo. They had been running around the school grounds for almost half an hour, lunch time was almost over.

"Eh? But I'm sure I felt it over by the picnic table near the soccer field," replied Orihime.

"We've checked that place 3 times already. Are you sure?" asked Ichigo trying to hold his temper. "Your detection skill's probably broken along with your powers."

"Mou! That's so mean Kurosaki-kun!" cried Orihime.

"Ugghh, fine, sorry. Let's just go back. If the feeling's not there anymore, then it's probably just a false alarm." Ichigo said as he walked back inside the school.

Orihime followed but stopped in her tracks. She whipped her head to her right but didn't see anything. "I'm sure I felt it,' she whispered as she decided to go back inside hurriedly following Ichigo.

At the corner of a building across where Orihime stood, a shadow lurked breathing in agony.

*.*.*.*

"I've got an errand from the karate club today, you sure you're going to wait up for me?" Ichigo asked Orihime who simply looked at him with those smiling eyes. "Yes," she said making Ichigo decide not to argue. 'I wonder if I'll ever win an argument against her.' He thought as they walked towards the school dojo.

"Gaaah!" cried out a student as he crashed onto the floor of the dojo.

"That's all you've got? The tournament's in 2 weeks' time and all of you suck!" yelled a dark haired girl.

Orihime watched as the dark haired girl scolded her club members. She glanced at Ichigo who just got out of the changing room. She blushed at the sight of him wearing the karate uniform. 'Eh? It's this feeling again.' She thought as she held her chest.

She observed as the girl called out her members one by one and also one by one brought them down on their backs. "Hey, take it easy Tatsuki," said Ichigo who was readying himself to be her next opponent.

"Don't tell me to go easy! I'm not gonna let some minor failures be the one that'll stop me from winning the tournament!" shouted Tastuki. Orihime quickly shifted and carefully examined Tatsuki. 'She's the one.'

"Kurosaki-kun!" she yelled as Tatsuki charged forward grabbing Ichigo by the neck.

"Urrk! Tat-su-ki," yelped Ichigo. The members looked on in horror. Orihime quickly grabbed her phone and typed a key. As soon as she did, smoke came out of the phone and covered the whole dojo leaving a clear area where Ichigo and Tatsuki were.

Ichigo freed himself from her tight grasp and backed away coughing. He lifted his head to watch as Tatsuki held her hands to her head. "AHHHH!" she yelled.

"TATSUKI!" cried Ichigo running towards Tatsuki, but Orihime pulled him back. "No, you must let her transform first in order to save her. If you disrupt the metamorphosis, she'll end up a monster forever!" she warned.

Ichigo frantically remembered their conversation as they were looking for the source of Orihime's distraught during lunch.

Flashback

"Inoue, what else turns a person into a monster?" asked Ichigo.

Orihime stopped walking and looked at Ichigo sternly. "Do you remember the conditions I told you earlier this morning?" she asked. Ichigo nodded in remembrance. "Well, you see, these are the conditions for the enemy to allow the dark matter to take effect."

"Dark matter?" Ichigo repeated.

"It's the virus that creates the SINS. It can be injected into anybody. But it only takes effect under the conditions I said. Urahara-san said there might be other considerations but we've still yet to discover them." She answered. Orihime looked at Ichigo with much concern. "That's why we, the angels, were brought here, to cleanse people of these SINS."

End of Flashback

Tatsuki had fully turned into a hideous monster. Her arms swung like that of an ape's with gray fur. Her face was like that of a boar's with its long black tusks pointing out. It puffed purple smoke as its red glowing eyes searched for a victim.

"So how exactly do I do this?" Ichigo asked cautiously eyeing the monster in front of him.

"I'll summon your weapon, Zangetsu," said Orihime taking her phone out again. It glowed and two large pistols appeared. Ichigo grabbed them both and felt a surge of power come through him as well as a wardrobe change. He was now wearing a black suit similar to that worn by Hitsugaya and Urahara, except his tie had a red swastika symbol on it similar to the one on his guns. He quickly grabbed Orihime by the waist and evaded as the monster attacked in their direction.

"It gives you special abilities. The power of the robe that is," said Orihime as Ichigo laid her down at one side. "When you activate the power of the robe, my powers momentarily are available, but they're not as strong as it originally is. So be careful when you fight."

Ichigo nodded and charged at the monster. He shot at it with both pistols and white bullets fire at it. The monster cried out in pain and whipped its hand towards Ichigo who fell down on the floor with a loud thud. Orihime cried out as she felt the same pain surge from Ichigo's body.

"Inoue!" yelled Ichigo as he struggled to rise. "I'm all right!" replied Orihime. "Quickly you must save her, there's a time limit to the Haze spell."

Ichigo assumed that the haze would mean the smoke acting as the barrier to their fight. Ichigo stood up and glared at the monster who used to be his childhood friend. He had to stop her and time was running out.

.end. of. chapter.

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:**

I just want everyone to know and warn you that this fanfic is going to be slightly dark, but of course I'll put in some fluff here and there, expect lots of drama and twists.

I'm wondering if I should change the rating… tell me if I should cause I'm not really sure about it, especially for the future chapters, ehehe… it's my first fanfic after all.

Btw, to DeathBerryLover1995, to answer your question... hmm, let's just say you got 1 hunch right, I'm not gonna say which one though... so I hope you'll keep reading :)

Again… thanks to all those who took their time to review this. I'll try to finish drawing doodles for this story, I'm still practicing to draw Ichigo, I hate his spiky hair .

Seriously, I'm really grateful, and I'm also open to criticism, so don't hesitate to tell me when I'm doing something wrong.

R&R~


	5. Chapter 5: Weak Spot

**Disclaimer: **: I do not own Bleach and its characters. They are the property and original creations of Tite Kubo.

**Chapter Five: Weak Spot**

Ichigo jumped from side to side. His speed was enhanced and he could discern the monster's attack vividly. He felt as if he was like a super human managing to do flips he couldn't imagine he was capable of.

"Tatsuki! Snap out of it!" he yelled as he shot two more bullets at the monster. Unfortunately, calling out to her didn't work. He was getting annoyed that his weapon didn't seem to work either.

"You have to find its weak spot," cried Orihime as Ichigo barely dogged another attack.

"Tell me that sooner!" yelled Ichigo jumping up to avoid its arms reaching for him. He jumped on its arm and shot a bullet right through it. The monster howled in pain as it dragged its now useless arm.

Angered, it quickly charged with its tusks, Ichigo swiftly moved to the side but the monster's tusks swept to his direction sending him flying towards the wall of the barrier, which in turn electrocuted him.

"UWAAAAH!" cried Orihime and Ichigo in unison. Orihime lay on the floor.

"Inoue…" called out Ichigo managing to pull his wits together. He ran to her side and saw that she was bleeding. He checked if he was but there was no sign of blood on him, "Inoue! Inoue!" he cried out.

"Kurosaki-kun… be careful of the barrier's wall, an angel or Kami cannot leave it until the monster is defeated. If time runs out for the Haze spell, the monster will rampage and hurt other people, so you have to stop it before the time runs out." She breathed as she drifted into unconsciousness.

Ichigo grabbed his pistol. He was very angry at the situation. "Possess my friend, hurt Inoue," he said as he stood across the monster. "I'm gonna fucking destroy you."

He aimed his pistol at the monster and there he saw a glimpse like a shining black gem just between its tusks. "Die." He declared as he shot a bullet straight to the weak spot.

*.*.*.*

"Really, your first fight and your angel ends up like this?" said the angry Hitsugaya as he mended Orihime's wounds. "You have to remember that she cannot tolerate the pain as much as you can. You now have her powers, so your strength is ten times, even more so, than a normal human being."

"It's not like I wasn't being careful. You should've told me about this sooner and about the barrier being covered in electricity," defended Ichigo. He looked at Orihime who was now awake by his bed. "I'm so sorry…" he whispered so that only she could hear.

Orihime smiled, "It's all right." She lifted herself up to sitting position which alarmed Ichigo but she waved a hand to tell him she's fine. "Thank you very much Hitsugaya-san."

"It's fine. Just make sure you'll use your powers next time so that this bozo here doesn't end up dead," reminded Hitsugaya as he stood up and made a portal with his phone. "If you want more information, Kurosaki, I suggest that you try talking to Urahara, but I doubt he'll tell you anything," he said as he disappeared into the portal.

*.*.*.*

It had been two and a half months since Ichigo started fending off the monsters. He was getting used to it that it can even become a hobby of his. He had already cleansed at least 45 people which Orihime commended as record breaking for a newbie. Tatsuki, his childhood friend, had hit it off with Orihime. It seemed that Orihime was inspired by her determination. They've become really good friends over the last month.

Just a few blocks across Karakura Academy stood a cloaked stranger. His golden eyes stared at the school. "This is it… the feeling," he whispered, "the one who's been cleansing my children."

Ichigo felt a chill on his back and whipped his head out the window. Looking out the bright sunny day he shrugged off the feeling of being looked at from afar.

"Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime called out running towards him. It was free study period just after lunch and the busty beauty came over with an armful of bread.

"You're still hungry?" he asked in amazement.

"Well, we never really get to eat any of this stuff in the agency," said Orihime taking a large bite of the red bean paste bun.

"What agency?" interrupted Rukia.

"Oh, it's-mmmmfff…" Orihime would've replied hadn't Ichigo covered her mouth in a panic. "It's the place she used to live in… Tenshiagency!" he quickly said trying to fit in the words.

"I've never heard of it," said Rukia pulling up her seat and table next to Ichigo's. Orihime freed her mouth from his grip and pouted at him. But he was preoccupied at the moment as Rukia asked some questions related to their subject.

Orihime watched as her Kami looked… well, fidgety and contented. He smiled at Rukia as she tried to understand the things Ichigo was explaining which made Orihime uncomfortable. 'Eh? Why do I feel like my heart's being punctured by needles,' she thought as she took a bite on her bread. As Ichigo continued with his conversation with Rukia, Orihime felt his strong emotions well up in her. 'Kurosaki-kun has feelings for this person,' she concluded. 'But why do I feel like…'

Suddenly the same evil sensation came over her that distracted her from her thoughts. She tapped Ichigo on the arm and quickly stood up and left the room.

"What's up with Inoue? Maybe she's still hungry," Rukia mused as she watched her go out of the room. Ichigo stood up and looked at Rukia. "Sorry, I'll tutor you later, I'll be back in a minute."

Ichigo quickly fled following behind Orihime, leaving the skeptic Rukia watch as he left. Rukia sighed and went back to her original seat beside the sleeping Renji. "I wanted to study this because I didn't want to bother Onii-sama. He's stressed out lately."

Renji who awoke at her statement, looked over at her and placed an arm over her shoulders, "Just cause Ichigo has a higher rank in this subject doesn't mean you can't run to me for help."

Rukia smiled at him and turned to look at her notes. "Yeah but, you don't know shit about this."

*.*.*.*

Ichigo and Orihime had finished fighting off another SIN and trudge back to class turning to an empty street, when suddenly a figure appeared in front of them. Ichigo moved forward and tried to hide Orihime behind him.

"Who are you?" he asked sternly.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," it said lifting its index finger and moving it in the same motion. "How could you kill off so many of my babies and not know the father?"

Ichigo muttered to Orihime to bring out his guns just in case. "What the hell are you talking about?"

The being lifted its hood to reveal a man with a mound of pink hair. He was wearing glasses that didn't do much to hide the insanity in his eyes.

"Szayel Aporro Granz, if it means so much to you, my name that is." He flipped his pink shoulder length hair as his bangs fell on the right side of his face.

Ichigo turned to Orihime for an answer but all she gave him was the same look of confusion. He looked back at the man who was now nowhere in sight.

"You should never look away from your opponent, Kami-san," he said from behind Orihime. He grabbed her by the neck and Ichigo quickly drew out his gun and pointed it at Szayel. "Oh, I wouldn't do that if I were you," he said lifting a finger with long purple nails digging in Orihime's throat.

"Let her go you bastard!" Ichigo yelled. Sweat rolled down his forehead as he tried to think of a way to stop this insane man.

"Would you stop killing off my babies if I did?" he asked. Ichigo glared at him. "I think not." He tightened his gripped and Ichigo yelled firing his gun at Szayel's feet. The man let go of Orihime and jumped out of the way.

"Maybe I need to stir up your emotions a bit more," he said suddenly disappearing without a trace.

Ichigo ran over to Orihime. He held his neck and felt a slight pain. "Are you all right?" he asked sincerely worried for her.

"Yes, I'm fine," Orihime replied coughing a bit.

"Who was that? Is he also a SIN?" asked Ichigo. Orihime looked up at him and said, "I don't think so Kurosaki-kun. I think he's an angel."

*.*.*.*

Classes had been over but Ichigo and Orihime stayed at school as Ichigo finished his club errand duties. "That's the last time I'm going to help the basketball club," he declared sitting beside Orihime on one of the gym's benches. "Any luck contacting Urahara-san?" he asked.

Orihime looked at him and shook her head. Ichigo sighed, "Where is this agency of yours anyway? Why don't we just go and visit it?"

"That's impossible. You have to get a pass from the president, Urahara-san or vice president, Yoruichi-san. But that's impossible since you don't work directly for the company, and you only are connected to it through my contract," replied Orihime shaking her head more.

Ichigo was about to leave when he heard Rukia shouting, "Onii-sama! Let's go home already; the doctor said you need rest."

"Do not hinder me Rukia. I have duties to accomplish," he said going in the basketball gym. True it was really late and the only ones left in the gym were Ichigo and Orihime.

"Yo! What's up?" called out Ichigo distracting the two siblings. "Isn't it kind of late for the student council president to be here?"

"You are one to talk Kurosaki Ichigo," said Byakuya Kuchiki. "I have business here for the basketball club."

"Unfortunately, they all went home already, you should too. Inoue and I are also about to go."

"Do not tell me what to do, I have things I must finish here," Byakuya replied turning around to leave.

"Onii-sama! Please," plead Rukia. Ichigo didn't like the way she was worrying. "Just go home already Byakuya, your sister's worried."

Byakuya merely glared at him and started to walk but was stopped in his tracks and froze. Rukia called out to him but he didn't answer. Orihime examined the situation before her and gasped as she saw a very thin string piercing Byakuya on the back of his neck.

"Oh no! Kurosaki-kun!" she cried. But before anyone of them could react, the string broke and Byakuya fell to the floor with a thud. Rukia ran to aid him.

"Ohohoho!" laughed the same insane voice from earlier. "Szayel!" bellowed Ichigo searching the gym. "I did my research on you boy. And I'm quite fond of what I found out," echoed the man's voice.

"Come out here and face me you fucking bastard!" cried Ichigo as he desperately searched the gym. "Inoue! The haze spell!"

Orihime quickly activated the smoke screen through her phone and the gym was surrounded, except it didn't hide away Rukia and her brother.

"Kurosaki-kun! The SIN is…" Orihime desperately said as Ichigo turned to look at Byakuya. "Rukia! Get away from him!"

Orihime quickly reacted and pulled Rukia out of the way. Byakuya slowly evolved into the kind of monster Ichigo would fight off. His body completely changed into that of a wolf's, its ears long and spread out like blue fire. Its tail lashed on the ground leaving burnt marks on the gym floor.

"Onii-sama! What-?" cried out Rukia. She couldn't believe what she was seeing right before her. She looked at Orihime then at Ichigo. "What's going on Ichigo?"

Ichigo looked at her and before he could explain he cried out, "Watch out!"

Orihime had fallen back on the floor as the same cloaked man grabbed Rukia by the waist and settled himself on the other side of the monster.

"Let's see how you like it when I use your weak spot," he said throwing his arm forward signaling the wolf to attack.

.end. of. chapter.

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:**

****Hahaha! I got a double chapter out this week. I also put up a book cover for this story, but it's somewhat crappy because I only had an hour to do it before classes start. Ichigo's hair is such a pain to draw... _"

Anyway, hope you continue reading to the very end, I promise to put more lovey-dovey moments once I get some things out of the way (like Rukia... kidding!).

R&R~


	6. Chapter 6: Stirring Emotions

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach and its characters. They are the property and original creations of Tite Kubo.

**Chapter Six: Stirring Emotions**

"Let her go you fucking bastard!" yelled Ichigo. Orihime threw him his guns and he started firing at the wolf.

"NO! Onii-sama!" cried Rukia as she watched on in horror as Ichigo fired bullets at her brother. "Stop it ICHIGO!"

Orihime looked into her hands and tried to form a flicker of her power but it wasn't enough. She looked at Ichigo and held her heart. 'Kurosaki-kun is desperate to save Kuchiki-san. I have to help him.' She shifted her eyes over to Szayel Aporro who was underneath the ring. Rukia hung by his side tied in what seemed to be a string like that of a spider's.

She cautiously moved her way towards them as she assumed that the man was preoccupied at Ichigo's predicament.

Ichigo saw Orihime slowly crept to the side. He felt a slight sense of relief as he concentrated in defeating the monster. However, he felt different about this fight. Rukia shouting at him not to hurt her brother made him doubt as to what to do. He had to find the weak spot and end the battle quickly. He frantically tried to avoid any attacks as well so that Orihime wouldn't get hurt.

Szayel noticed the slow pace Ichigo was doing. "I see, looking for a weak spot as well," he mocked. "I doubt you'll find it, I made sure you'll never find it!" He laughed maniacally and suddenly noticed that Orihime was nowhere to be found.

"I don't think so woman," he whispered as he disappeared from his position and suddenly appearing in front of Orihime who was just a few feet from Rukia. "Well, well, the angel comes to save the day…"

Orihime's eyes widened in shock as the man held her by her wrists. She struggled to loosen his grip but she apparently still lacked the strength.

Szayel brought out a dagger from behind him and pierced both of Orihime's hands together. She held in her scream as Szayel threw her to the ground. Ichigo screamed in pain as he registered the events occurring to Orihime, he looked at his now bleeding hands.

"Inoue! Shit! You fucking bastard! What did you do to Inoue?" he bellowed running past the wolf monster to attack Szayel Aporro. But the wolf monster took his being distracted as an advantage to attack. It flicked its tail and burned Ichigo's arm. Orihime screamed as she felt her own arm burn.

"Inoue!" cried Rukia as she looked down at the auburn haired girl. Her hands still pierced together staining the floor with her blood.

"It'll be all right Kuchiki-san. We'll save your brother," she assured her. Rukia's eyes now welled up with tears as she watches Orihime struggle to stand. "I'll get you out of that."

"Inoue! Behind you!" warned Rukia. Orihime quickly turned and was slapped on the face by Szayel. She fell back on the ground. "HAHAHA! Bitch! Did you think I'd let you do something like that? The battle's just getting even more fun!" Szayel declared with lunacy evident in his eyes.

"As for you my sweet, how about I turn you into a SIN, like your brother?" he said moving towards Rukia who was now struggling to free herself.

"No!" cried Orihime. "Koten Zanshun! I reject!" quickly calling out her power. It cut through Szayel then through Rukia's bindings. Rukia immediately ran to Orihime's side trying her best to find a way to free her hands from the dagger.

"You fucking little bitch! I'm going to take you alive and experiment on you slowly until you die!" shouted Szayel holding onto his now severed arm.

"I don't think so," panted Ichigo. He was able to slay the wolf which was now slowly turning into Byakuya.

"Tsk… that fast huh?" Szayel uttered through gritted teeth.

"The belly was a vulnerable part after all," said Ichigo as he fired two bullets to his direction but he quickly jumped out of the way.

"I'll get you next time Kami-san, and that bitch angel of yours." He opened a portal through the wall of the barrier and fled but not before Ichigo fired two more bullets his way.

"Bastard," he whispered and ran to Rukia and Orihime's side. Rukia stood up and ran to aid her brother.

"Inoue…" said Ichigo as he looked at the worn out angel. He fell to his knees and bowed down. "I…"

"Soten Kisshun, I reject," Orihime whispered as her dome enveloped the both of them. Orihime pulled out her hands from the dagger, stifling a scream as she did. "It's all right Kurosaki-kun. This is my duty as an angel." She looked over at Rukia and Byakuya behind Ichigo. "You have to erase their memory soon."

Ichigo stood up without saying a word and went over to Rukia. Orihime watched as Rukia threw punches on Ichigo's chest. Orihime felt a sudden pain ran through her heart. "Kurosaki-kun…" she said as tears rolled down her eyes. "He's guilty because he couldn't protect Kuchiki-san. He's guilty because I'm hurt. What pains me more is the fact that he's guilty that he'll be erasing her memories…" Orihime closed her eyes and let herself drift off to sleep.

*.*.*.*

Orihime awoke to a lot of screaming. She was on her bed in the invisible room that she placed beside Ichigo's. She shifted to the side to see Ichigo shouting at Urahara.

"Urahara-san?" she said. The two became silent and looked over at her. "Inoue…" said Ichigo in a depressed tone that pained Orihime.

"Orihime-chan! You're finally awake!" he commented. "You see, Kurosaki-san here keeps asking me why it's unfair."

"Huh?" stuttered Orihime as she sat up. The wounds from the battle have disappeared.

"Are you fucking kidding me? What do you think are you playing at? These are our lives!" yelled Ichigo grabbing the man's collar.

"It was never my decision to make Kurosaki-san. It is how the robe works, it is predestined after all. In a normal state when you do not activate its powers, the connection between your being and souls are severed, meaning whatever she feels and whatever you feel, it's yours to keep. But when you activate the power of the robe, such as activating the haze spell or using your weapon, the more you use it, the stronger the connection you'll have with her," answered Urahara as he shoved Ichigo's hand away.

Orihime wondered at the statement. She never really knew how the robe works in a situation like hers. She knew that she draws her power from it. Then she realized that the feelings she was assuming were Ichigo's during school were mere intuition, or rather, it might've been hers, or so she thinks.

"Isn't there a way to stop it from happening?" Ichigo asked as he calmed down a bit.

"I've been doing a research on that. I've never thought that your connection would be so powerful," replied Urahara.

"What do you mean by that?" Ichigo questioned further.

"Well, when the Kami or the angel gets hurt, you'd only supposedly feel a slight pain. But in her case, when her hands were severed by that dagger, your hands had the same cut and it bled like hers, the same goes for the burn on your arm."

A moment of silence filled the room. Orihime looked at her now normal hands. There was no trace of a cut, blood or scar on it. Her powers had worked well to heal them both.

"By the way Orihime-chan, you shouldn't use too much of your powers, you'll die of exhaustion," suggested Urahara. Orihime nodded in understanding and turned to look at Ichigo who was avoiding her gaze.

"Then what about that man. Who is he?" asked Ichigo.

Urahara suddenly froze. He felt himself get angry but held off the thought. He calmly replied but in a serious tone, "He's a Reaper, or that's what we call them in the agency."

"Reaper?" chorused Orihime and Ichigo. "I've never heard of it from the agency," added Orihime.

"That's because, they've only appeared recently. If there is heaven, then there must be hell," Urahara said looking at Orihime then to Ichigo. "Reapers are like angels but of course, reverse in nature. Angels are made of pure energy called White matter, while reapers on the other hand are based on the negative energy, Dark matter."

Ichigo gave a skeptical look at Urahara. "Care to explain more?"

Urahara shifted and held his fan under his chin. "Unfortunately, Kurosaki-san, we've yet to learn more about them. But do not fret the research department is getting closer into finding out their origins."

He quickly moved to the side and opened a portal. "I'll send you an update once we figure it out. As well as the solution to your very strong connection." He started to enter the portal when he added, "Oh, and don't forget to continue with your duties, and I'll expect you to report at the agency once you've reached the 50th mark. And please, try to avoid giving me too much trouble." With that said, he finally disappeared into the portal.

"50th mark?" asked Ichigo.

"That means you've cleansed 50 SINS. It seems that Urahara-san just gave you a pass to HEAVEN," replied Orihime.

Ichigo looked at Orihime for a moment and turned his head away. "I'll head to my room then. Get some rest, we have classes tomorrow."

Ichigo stood and left the room as quickly as possible. Orihime simply looked on as he closed the door shut. She pulled her covers up to her head and sighed.

"Please let things be better tomorrow," she whispered and drifted back to sleep.

~end of chapter~

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:**

So I focused on Orihime's situation more than the fight with Ichigo and Byakuya. Sorry to disappoint Byakuya fans, but who knows, he might show up again.

I really am changing the rating of this story because there really will be some dark moments and I might add some, just a little bit, of lemon in the future.

Another thing, sorry if I'm kind of hurting Orihime here, but I assure you, things will be better for the next chapters (Orihime wished for it so it will come true!).

Thanks to those who waited patiently for this story to be updated. I'll try to up my pace. :D

R&R~


	7. Chapter 7: After Laughter

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach and its characters. They are the property and original creations of Tite Kubo.

**Chapter Seven: After Laughter**

It had been two weeks since the event at the gym occurred. Orihime noticed that Rukia had somewhat changed, although she doesn't remember anything, somewhere in her heart she felt the missing memory.

Every time Orihime tried to talk to Ichigo, he would simply find an excuse to avoid a conversation with her. He wouldn't even look her in the eyes. What saddened her more was the fact that Ichigo has also been avoiding his duties as Kami. He hasn't slain a single SIN since then.

"Is something wrong Orihime?" asked Tatsuki as they sat on a bench underneath a tree. Orihime decided to have her lunches with Tatsuki to avoid the awkward atmosphere between Ichigo and her.

"Oh, no, it's nothing," she replied as she took a bite on her strawberry filled donut.

"Is it about Ichigo?" asked Tatsuki, not giving up on inquiring her.

"Eh? Strawberry… You mean the donut?"

"No! I didn't mean that," said Tatsuki tapping her head. "Silly girl…"

"I know what you meant," replied Orihime. The donut lingered on her lips before she took another bite. It was bothering her how much she was thinking of Ichigo. All of the things, the emotions welling up in her were new to her. She wasn't human after all. She never gave attention to human emotions before.

Ichigo and Orihime would still walk home together. The silence was deafening and it had been like that since that day. Orihime just couldn't take it anymore.

"Kurosaki-kun… ummm…"

"Oh, Yuzu's going to make spaghetti for dinner, you like that with red bean paste and wasabi right?" blurted Ichigo trying as much as possible to avoid a serious conversation with the angel.

"No, Kurosaki-kun, please, listen," said Orihime.

"Ah, I forgot about the errand dad asked me. I think you should go ahead."

"No! Kurosaki-kun! I will not stop trying to talk to you!" exclaimed Orihime. It was unlike her to suddenly cry out like that. "Please. Don't be like this."

Ichigo looked at Orihime, his eyebrows meeting as usual. But his gaze was that of pain and confusion. "What do you want me do then?"

"Answer me. Why have you stopped fighting off SINS?"

Ichigo avoided Orihime's deep gaze. She was trying to search the boy for answers. But all he gave was a pained look and silence.

Orihime had to fight the tears that wanted to roll down her cheeks. She held her hand over to her mouth to stop from hiccupping. As she continued to look at Ichigo she felt more disappointed making her run off.

Ichigo stared at the pavement as Orihime passed by him. He clutched his hand in frustration. 'Why?' he thought as he searched for the answer to Orihime's question.

At that moment Rukia and Renji slapped him on his back at the same time.

"Lover's quarrel… Already?" teased Renji.

"Get off my case, annoying monkey," said Ichigo slapping his hand away from his shoulders. 'Orihime was one thing to avoid, now Rukia shows up,' he thought as he tried to look on the path where Orihime had run off to.

"Ichigo," uttered Rukia.

"What?" he replied without looking at her.

Rukia raised an eyebrow and her arm and stroke a punch straight on Ichigo's head.

"OUCH! Effing Little Bi-,"

"Say it and I'll punch you," said Renji cutting off Ichigo's comment.

"How about we go over to the playground and talk," said Rukia as she held a hand at Renji. Rukia looked straight into Ichigo's eyes and by that he knew he had to hear whatever she needed to say.

The three reached the empty playground just a few blocks from where they last stood. Ichigo looked back and forth, examining the place.

"Looking for Inoue?" Rukia asked as she gestured for them to sit by the swing. Renji knowing the atmosphere sat a few good feet away, just by the slide.

"I'm not… It's just, the place is familiar, that's all," Ichigo lied. He knew in his mind that he was searching for a glimpse of the auburn beauty. "So what's the deal?"

"I know Ichigo," Rukia said without hesitation. "I don't remember everything, but I know there's a memory of you and Inoue. I know you have a secret, I'm not going to pry because I respect you both."

Ichigo's eyes widened. "What?"

"I remember the feeling, as much as I try to recall the exact events; all I see is a blur. All I could do was guess at what happened back then. I've thought about it since it happened," continued Rukia. "You're afraid."

Ichigo looked on as Rukia moved her feet in a slow steady swing. "Afraid that you couldn't protect me, afraid that what happened to me might happen to your family. And," she said looking at Ichigo's expression, which read that she was right about him. "And, afraid that you might not be able to protect Inoue," she finally said.

"I…" Ichigo stuttered. The petite girl was right. He was afraid of those things. The reason why he had stopped fighting off the SINS was because he was afraid that Orihime might get hurt again. That he'd be unable to save her. He trusts that his family is safe. Urahara had assured him that, more than once even. Even Toushiro was on the same side. It was just Orihime, the reason why he couldn't fight again.

Rukia stood up in front of Ichigo and slapped him really hard. "That is not the man I know!" she exclaimed.

Renji looked on and smirked as Ichigo yelled a few curse words at Rukia for slapping him.

"In the past you've tried so hard to protect those who are important to you. Your mother knows it well, the kind of man that you are. And now that you have that chance, the power to protect even more lives, do not waste it! I still believe in that person, the you who had the will to fight!"

Ichigo was shocked at Rukia's words. He was even reminded of his mother. He shrugged off the last thought and stood up. He knew all along what he needed to do. Maybe that's what he needed, someone to assure him that his choice was all right. That he just needed a little push.

"Thanks Rukia," he said looking down at the dark haired woman. He looked at Renji who nodded and quickly ran off.

"Why didn't you tell him that you actually remembered everything?" asked Renji.

"What are you talking about?" said Rukia her eyes flickering with mischief. "Ichigo sucks at erasing people's memories."

"He sucks in general," mocked Renji. Rukia punched him on his side. "Ow… Well, he does have some redeeming qualities."

"About that, if you ever tell him that I know… I'll chop 'them' off, if you know what I mean."

Renji froze at the statement. "You won't really?"

"Try me."

Renji held his, 'dingdong' and uttered, "Yes ma'am, roger that. This mouth is sealed."

*.*.*.*

Ichigo ran into his room then into Orihime's, he found that she wasn't home yet and it was getting really dark. He had been looking for her around the park and the streets on the way home.

"Where the hell is she?" he said scratching his head. He threw his bag on his bed and ran off. "I'll be out for a bit," he called out to his sisters and father who were gathered at the living room, chatting.

Orihime watched as the ferry passed under the highway bridge. She looked down at the dark river below and pouted as the water rippled along with the lights of the city reflected on it.

"I don't know how to get back home from here," she sighed as she walked along the side of the railings. She passed by lovers who were out for a night stroll and studied them trying to understand their actions. "A-re? That girl and boy linked their lips together…" she said. "I wonder if it tastes nice…" she said holding her lips. "Kurosaki-kun's lips."

She kept on walking until there was no one in sight. She had walked too far from the crowd. Being ignorant as she was not a human being, she continued to stroll down the path. She passed by three thugs who looked at her hungrily.

"Whoa, look at what the night has brought us. A sexy, busty female," said one of the thugs. He was wearing shades despite the darkness.

Another one licked his lips and followed Orihime as she continued with her stroll. "Hey little missy, where yah going?"

"Huh?" uttered Orihime as she turned around to look at the three thugs. "Who are you?"

The three looked at each other and circled in on Orihime. "We're just normal guys, hanging around. Wanna play with us?" asked the third thug, he was wearing a bonnet covering his eyes.

"Play?" she repeated. Then as what her true nature is, she felt their sinister aura. "I don't have time to play games, I'm sorry, but I have to go…"

Orihime quickly turned but was blocked by the thug who was wearing shades. "Oh, but the night is young."

"Yeah, let's go have some fun," said the second thug, his feline eyes sparkling with mischief. He pulled Orihime's hand.

"Kyaa! No! I don't want to!" she yelled. She bit on the man's hand and shoved the other thug to run away.

"You little bitch! Come 'ere!" yelled the shades-thug pulling Orihime's hair. "You dare bite Toshi's hand?"

"Yeah, fucking bitch. We just wanted to play," said Toshi blowing on his hand. "Hey, Kazuma," he called the thug with the bonnet. "Help Sato hold her."

The third thug did as he was told. Orihime tried to break loose from the grips of the two men but they held her tight.

"Now, dare to bite me will you? We'll see how you like it."

He pulled on Orihime's ribbon. She tried to yell but Sato covered her mouth. Toshi pulled her blouse until the buttons came off. Orihime looked on in horror as the man came to face her and held her thighs, lifting her skirt slightly.

'No! Kurosaki-kun!' her thoughts screamed for him as the man tried to lay his lips on her now bare neck. She closed her eyes and prayed that he would hear her thoughts.

And as quickly as she called for him, he came punching the lights out of the man named Toshi. The two thugs quickly let go of Orihime in shock. She shuffled to her feet and ran off to the side. Tears poured down her cheeks.

"Who the fuck are you?" yelled Kazuma. But Ichigo gave no explanations. The moment he witnessed and registered what was happening before him, he felt rage take over and just like that, synchronizing with his thoughts, his body reacted. He made sure that no one was left out from his beating.

Toshi regained his composure and quickly grabbed Orihime as Ichigo was beating the crap out of Sato. "Yo! SOB! Stop right there or this babe is gonna get more than a scar." He said as he now held his Swiss knife on Orihime's throat.

Ichigo froze. He looked at Toshi with killing intent. Sato was unconscious and Kazuma struggled to get on his feet. Ichigo raised his hands above his head and looked intensely at Toshi.

"That's right, that's a good boy," he said. "Now then, where was I?" he continued. He pulled on Orihime's hair and licked her neck. Ichigo flinched as Orihime whimpered. He let his hands fall on his side. And he looked at Orihime as she looked into his eyes.

"I will protect you," he said.

"That's nice, but-" but before Toshi could finish his sentence, Ichigo had held him by his collar, his other hand holding tight on the Toshi's Knife hand.

Adrenaline was rushing through him. He threw Toshi on the side and he fell with a thud. Ichigo ran over to him and gave him kicks that he never knew he could do. The rage and adrenaline had mixed, he was unstoppable.

Ichigo piled the unconscious men on the side of the river. He came up to Orihime and quickly pulled her away from the place. Once they reached a clearing he looked at her, she was shivering from the shock. Her hair was a mess, the buttons on the top of her blouse were missing revealing an eyeful of her cleavage, and her skirt was slightly ripped. Ichigo took off his jacket and wrapped it around Orihime.

"Kurosaki-kun I…"

But before Orihime could finish, he leaned his head on her shoulders. "I won't run away anymore," he said in between heavy breaths.

Orihime could feel him shaking. "I'll do my job. I promised that to myself in order to keep my family safe." Orihime raised her hand, she tried to caress his head but her hands were trembling. Ichigo continued, "But I'm gonna do it properly this time. This time, I won't let you get hurt. I won't let any of my friends be put to harm."

"I'll protect you, I promise."

With these words, Orihime's hands held onto Ichigo's head. She bowed hers and laid it on top of his as she cried the tears she held ever since he started avoiding her.

~end of chapter~

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:**

First of all, I'm sorry for putting Orihime through so much. But that's one of the reasons why I love her; she's so strong despite the emotional turmoil, her depressing past and everything she's been through. She wouldn't be as strong as she is if it hadn't been for her love for Ichigo so I definitely want her to be happy with the one she loves. (Personally I think Ichigo doesn't deserve her... but… meh~)

Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter. I'll put up chapter 8 quickly! I'm gonna spoil everyone, cause it's gonna be light and fluffy, like cotton candy, I hope you'll keep reading!

R&R~


	8. Chapter 8: 7 Minutes in Heaven

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach and its characters. They are the property and original creations of Tite Kubo.

**Chapter Eight: 7 minutes in Heaven**

"BAM!" sounded Ichigo's gun as he fired the bullet straight at a scorpion like monster. The black residue disappeared in the air as Orihime approached the girl who had been possessed. She placed her hand on the girl's forehead and looked at Ichigo, "This is your 50th SIN. You're allowed to go to heaven now!"

Ichigo placed his gun as Orihime laid her phone in front of her. The gun was teleported back to its case in Ichigo's room. "So how do I go to heaven exactly?" he asked scratching his head as they started to move away before the girl could awaken.

"I don't know exactly, I've only ever been to heaven through teleportation by using my robe."

"Then maybe I should use it?" he asked.

"Eh? I'm not so sure…" suddenly Orihime's phone rang. She placed her phone in front of her and a card, much like a commuter's pass floated in front of them.

"Oh, looks like we've got the answer," said Orihime picking up the card. Ichigo's name was written on the card. "This serves as a one-time pass to heaven." She read the encryption out loud. "Oh, there's a contact number on it. Maybe we have to call it."

Ichigo took the card from her hands and shoved it in his pocket. "We'll do that later. Let's go home and get some rest."

Orihime nodded gleefully at her Kami's bidding and walked towards home. Ichigo watched her bounced merrily. He took out the card again and examined it. 'I might find out answers to my questions if I go here. But I have to plan this out properly,' he thought as he followed after Orihime.

"So what does HEAVEN look like?" asked Ichigo as they passed by a market street. It was a bright Sunday afternoon and all the couples are out for their dates. Ichigo shrugged the thought as he looked over at Orihime, who seemed amused at the increase of couples.

"Well, it's big," she said as she got distracted by a display of donuts at a nearby bakery.

"I think I can assume that it is. What else?" he continued as he went over to the bakery window to buy a dozen donuts. He handed Orihime one and she delightedly took it from his hands.

"It's all, nomnom, futuristic, nomnom, with lots of employees, nomnom…" she answered as she ate the donut. "Hmm, like a research facility," she uttered finishing her donut.

"Oh, I see…" Ichigo said as he watched Orihime ogle at the bag of donuts. He handed her another one. He watched as she delightedly ate the sweet snack. He had never noticed how relaxing it was to watch her. Her auburn hair fell nicely on her shoulders. Her bare neck was inviting. He shifted his gaze on her lips. He gawked at it as she licked off the Bavarian filling on the side of her pink luscious lips. Ichigo was mesmerized. Then suddenly,

"SMACK!"

"Eh? What are you doing Kurosaki-kun?" exclaimed Orihime. Ichigo had hit himself on the head.

"Nothing, umm… there was a mosquito on my head," he lied. 'Dammit, what the hell was I thinking,' he thought to himself as he shook his head. "Let's go."

But immediately Orihime was distracted by the noise of the arcade. "Kurosaki-kun! Look here!"

She pointed at a UFO catcher machine. "That's a very cute toy isn't it?" she said pointing at a round pink toy with angel wings designed on the back. It had a ":3" expression.

"It looks like you," teased Ichigo. Orihime pouted. "You want it?" he asked.

Orihime's expression quickly changed and she clapped her hands in joy. "Yes! Will you get it for me?" she asked.

"Yeah sure," replied Ichigo as he went over the counter to buy tokens. He placed a token and started the machine. He failed on the first try, frustrated he placed another coin.

"Uwaah! Oh no! It might fall! Move a little over there…" said Orihime grabbing on Ichigo's arm. Ichigo stiffened at the feeling and he looked over at Orihime's expression. 'She's cute… wait what?'

"Bu-buzzed!" sounded the machine. Ichigo had failed again to retrieve the toy. "Aww…" commented Orihime. "Maybe we can try again next time."

"Not gonna happen," said Ichigo as he placed another coin. He concentrated real hard to get the toy. 'Why am I being distracted, just 'cause she's so close.'

"Ting-Ting-Ting-Ting!" rang the machine. "Yey! You got it!" exclaimed Orihime as she moved to get the toy from Ichigo. "Haha, Thank you so much Kurosaki-kun."

"No problem," he replied. His gaze softened as he watched Orihime hug the toy. 'Maybe I'm like this because her happiness is contagious.'

"I guess we should head home then," said Orihime interrupting his thoughts. They headed out of the arcade and walked homebound.

'This could be the only opportunity we have to spend time like this,' his thoughts rang as they passed busy streets. 'We should just go and…' his thoughts paused as he felt a tug on his shirt. He looked at Orihime who was blushing madly. Seeing her like that made him blush as well, he quickly shifted his head to look at something else.

"Umm… Kurosaki-kun," whispered Orihime.

"Yeah?" he uttered trying to mouth out his words carefully.

"We might not be able to get another chance like this, so I was umm…" she stuttered. Ichigo looked at her now eager to hear what she had to say. "…maybe we could, go home later."

Ichigo turned the other way and grinned. "Sure, why not? There haven't been any SINS out lately so maybe we should take this opportunity to have some fun."

Orihime brightened and hugged her new toy tightly. "So where should we go?"

Ichigo's heart skipped a beat. 'That's right, what do you do in this sort of situation?'

"Err, I guess we could," Ichigo said thinking hard of the times he went as chaperon for his two best friends. "Watch a movie?"

"Movie? What is that?" Orihime asked innocently.

"You know, like that on TV but with a bigger screen," he said.

"That will be fun! Let's try that!" said Orihime.

The two then headed for the theater. Ichigo was surprised that the girl chose to watch a sci-fi action thriller movie than a romantic drama. They proceeded to watch the movie. Ichigo felt a bit uncomfortable as his thoughts drifted to the beautiful auburn haired girl sitting beside him. He couldn't help but glance every single moment he can to catch a glimpse of her reaction.

'Shit, what's wrong with me?' he thought. He shrugged off the growing feeling in his heart. The two continued on with their 'date', which Ichigo kept denying in his mind. 'This isn't a date, we're just relaxing, plus this girl has to experience something like this,' he thought as he looked on at Orihime who had so much energy.

Ichigo took Orihime to check out some boutiques, ones that Rukia and Renji would go to. He suddenly thought of Rukia and realized that she didn't affect him as much anymore. He looked at the woman in front of him. Orihime was looking at over at the clothes.

"Do you want to try one out?" asked Ichigo. "Then if you like, we'll buy it."

"Eh? But I don't have enough money for such things," replied Orihime.

"Who said you were paying? Go on, just try it," Ichigo said shoving Orihime into the dressing room.

Ichigo sat as he waited for Orihime to finish. As he looked around he was surprised to see a familiar face. "Tatsuki?" he called.

"Hmmm? Why if isn't Ichigo?" greeted Tatsuki. "What are you doing at a place like this? Here with your sister?"

"You're one to talk; I didn't know you were into this sort of stuff."

The place didn't fit Tatsuki at all since the boutique sold dresses rather than shirts and jeans.

"I'm here with Chizuru and the others. And quit dodging my question, what 'bout you?"

But before Ichigo could answer for himself, Orihime had come out of the dressing room.

"I'm not really sure what would look good on me, I've only worn clothes brought from the company," said Orihime straightening her dress.

Ichigo held his jaw before it could even drop. Orihime was wearing a scarlet red dress up to her thighs showing off her fair legs. The collar was a bit low, just enough to get a glimpse of her cleavage. Ichigo tried to shake off the thought of what's underneath the dress.

"Wow, you're really beautiful Orihime," said Tatsuki trying to distract Ichigo's thoughts from running wild.

"Tatsuki-chan!" exclaimed Orihime as she went over to her friend. "This is a surprise."

"Hah! I'm more surprised at seeing you," she replied eyeing Ichigo. "Are you and Ichigo going out on a date?"

"This isn't a date!" exclaimed Ichigo. He felt his body temperature rise.

"Then what is it?" teased Tatsuki, amused that her childhood friend was getting flustered.

"It's, umm…"

"Kurosaki-kun just assisted me, I needed to buy some things and we coincidentally met on the way," interjected Orihime giving a small smile at Ichigo.

"Is that so?" said Tastuki raising an eyebrow. "Well, if you say so."

"Hey Tatsuki, we're leaving," called out one of her friends.

"Oops, I gotta go, I'll see you in school Orihime, you too Ichigo," she chuckled as she ran off.

"You… errr…." Ichigo stuttered.

"Eh?" asked Orihime.

"You look… beautiful," he finally said as he lowered his voice. He scratched his nose and tried to look at other things.

"Thank you," said Orihime. Ichigo felt a slight thump in his chest. "You should get that then," said Ichigo. Orihime nodded and changed back to her old clothes.

The rest of day went on without troubles. They went to a coffee shop and chatted about school, the company and random things. All Ichigo could think of at that moment was listening to her singsong voice. Their next stop was over at a nearby zoo apparently the angel had not seen all sorts of animals as her memory at the facility did not contain it.

"Uwaah! Look at this animal! It looks just like Kurosaki-kun," said Orihime in amazement pointing at a lion.

"How does that look like me?" asked Ichigo.

"Well," said Orihime. "You have the same hair color and the scowl on that lion's face looks just like yours!" Orihime imitated Ichigo's scowl.

"That's not funny," he said as Orihime giggled. He watched on as Orihime looked over one animal to another.

"Hey don't run so fast! You might slip," said Ichigo and just in time. Orihime had slipped on a rock. Quickly, Ichigo ran over to help her but also slipped.

"Owwww…" he said. He was on his hands and knees and barely noticed that his face was really close to Orihime's, she was lying on her back opposite to Ichigo.

The two stared at each other distracted by their circumstance. Ichigo looked at Orihime's stormy gray eyes. It reminded him of the rain, but as he stared longer, he felt captivated. He was mesmerized, by her eyes, her nose, and her lips. Everything was inviting him. He slowly moved his face forward. Until…

"BAM!" The two had hit their foreheads.

"OWWWW!" cried out Ichigo. He held on his sore forehead.

"A-ta-ta-ta…" cried Orihime holding on to her own brow. "Uwaah! I'm so sorry Kurosaki-kun! I suddenly got up without thinking," she said as she regained her composure.

"No, its fine, I was, distracted." He rubbed on his forehead and felt a slight bump. 'Damn, her head's really hard. '

They got up and rubbed off the dirt on their clothes. 'Well, this is awkward,' thought Ichigo. He looked down at Orihime who was fumbling on the seams of her skirt.

"How about we head to the park before we go home?" suggested Ichigo.

"That'd be nice," replied Orihime as she followed after her Kami. 'Why did I suddenly think of wanting to exchange a kiss with Kurosaki-kun, just like the couple I saw by the river," she thought. She shook of the feeling and continued to their next destination.

*.*.*.*

The two decided to eat some hotdogs by the lake over at the largest park in the neighborhood. They sat on an empty bench and watched the couples and families that rode swan boats at the lake.

"Thank you very much Kurosaki-kun," said Orihime. She took the aluminum foil off her hotdog. "Angels like me never get to experience something like this. We've only fend off SINS and stayed in HEAVEN until we have another mission to accomplish."

Ichigo looked at her as her eyes settled on his. "Meeting you back then is the greatest thing to have happened in my life."

Ichigo slightly blushed and moved his head away so that Orihime would not notice. "It's no problem, it's not like I'm not thankful for meeting you. So thanks…" He scrunched his face up and thought, 'Shit, that was lame.' He took a glance at Orihime who was smiling at him. Ichigo turned his head again and clutched his chest. 'Fuck! This girl is going to be the death of me. Urrrghh, I shouldn't be thinking about this stupid feeling.'

The two finished their meal. The silence was starting to become awkward so Ichigo started, "I never really asked, but when's your birthday Inoue?"

"Huh? Birthday?"

"You know, when you were born, as a baby."

Orihime thought really hard. "I don't know. My memories started from the time I woke up in the facility."

Ichigo was surprised to hear her reply. 'How could I forget the fact that she's not human?' He thought as his gaze softened. "So when was that?"

"I'm not really sure. Ahaha, I guess I don't have a birthday. But it's ok."

"It's not. Hmm… well, I met you on September 3, we can call that your birthday," Ichigo said as he checked the calendar on his phone.

Orihime gave him a loving smile. "UM! Sure… That is a great day for my birthday."

Ichigo took a long look at the lake as it reflected the now setting sun. "We can go to that place any time right?"

Orihime looked up at his pensive face. "Yes, it's like a 24 hour convenience store!" she joked to relax Ichigo.

"Okay, then let's go home first to put our stuff. Then I'll talk to my dad, pretend I'll be at Renji's for a while."

Orihime nodded in agreement and headed homebound.

'What is heaven?' asked Ichigo to himself as he watched Orihime walk with a jolly skip. He smiled a little and continued after her. 'To me, this is already heaven.'

~end of chapter~

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:**

I actually finished this chapter just after I made chapter seven, then I read DeathBerryLover1995's review and thought 'Yeah, it should be longer.' So I went back to the story and added the part with Tatsuki and the zoo. I'm not really sure how Ichigo and Orihime would react and imagining their date was a little hard, cause I know there'd be a few awkward moments. Anyway, I'd really love to know what you all think of this chapter.

Thanks to everyone who's been reading and reviewing, you always make me smile on stressful days. I'd love to hear your ideas for lovey-dovey parts. :)

R&R~


	9. Chapter 9: Dance in the Twilight

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach and its characters. They are the property and original creations of Tite Kubo.

**Chapter Nine: Dance in the Twilight**

"So…" Ichigo began as they stood in an empty street. "How does this work really?" he asked as he examined the card.

Orihime took it from his hands and dialed the contact number. "Let's wait," she said as she held her phone in front of her. Nothing happened.

"Well, that was useless," Ichigo said scratching his head. "Why don't we just go there tomorrow after class?"

Suddenly the wall in front of Ichigo and Orihime glowed. A portal opened and a red taxi came out of nowhere heading their way. Ichigo and Orihime immediately got out of the way as it passed through the wall in between them.

"What the hell was that?!" exclaimed Ichigo as sweat ran through his forehead. Then he heard a honk of a horn and he quickly moved away as the taxi appeared again and stopped in between him and Orihime. The door opened automatically.

"You getting in or not?" asked a brash young man. He wore the same scowl as Ichigo. He removed his hat and greeted Orihime in a kinder tone which irritated Ichigo. His distinct feature was that he was bald. Ichigo got in and as quickly as he did, the door slammed closed and the man revved up the engine. "Be sure to wear your seatbelts, this is going to be a bumpy ride."

The taxi zoomed and entered the wall where it came from. Ichigo leaned back because of the speed of the car. "Are you fucking crazy driving like a lunatic!" he exclaimed as he zoomed pass regular cars.

"Haha, are you worried the cars might get hit? They can't even see this taxi."

"That's not it….FUCK! Watch out for that bus!" Ichigo yelled as the taxi just went through the bus. He turned to look at Orihime as she nonchalantly hummed and watched the night pass by her window. 'Geez, this girl's not even fazed.'

Orihime noticed Ichigo looking at her and blushed slightly. "You shouldn't worry Kurosaki-kun," she said. "Let's trust… errr… What is your name driver-san?"

"Madarame Ikkaku, at your service, the one and only driver-san," he said raising his hat for Orihime. Ichigo got a little irritated. "Fine, let's trust a bald guy to drive us to that weird company you work for," Ichigo commented.

Ikkaku's vein popped and he turned to look at Ichigo, "What did you say brat?"

"Eyes on the road!" yelled Ichigo.

"HUH? Didn't the pretty lady over here just tell you to trust me?" he said moving his face close to Ichigo's.

"Why don't you just fucking drive properly already?!" Ichigo replied shoving his forehead against Ikkaku's.

"Umm… Madarame-san, Kurosaki-kun, please don't fight," interrupted Orihime.

"Che—" muttered Ikkaku. He turned to look back on the road, well what used to be a road. Ichigo's jaw dropped as the car had ascended and was now riding on a white path in the skies. He saw the glimmer of the city lights below. 'It really is a way to heaven' he thought settling himself on his seat.

"We're almost there," said Ikakku. The clover ornament on his rearview mirror jingled as the taxi slowed down. Ichigo looked out the window. His eyes widened as he saw a really large cloud, well, not really a cloud. It seemed like a huge spacecraft. And atop the cloud-like craft sat an enormous building it was oddly shaped, like it had wings on each side. He also noticed a tower just behind the main building it raised higher than any of the other parts of the structure.

"And here I thought it was a normal company tower," he said as the car came to a stop.

Ichigo and Orihime got off but not before getting into a short argument with Ikkaku. The two faced a huge gate and there stood an equally huge man.

"Jidanbou-san!" greeted Orihime.

"Oh, Orihime, welcome back. It's been a long time," the large man greeted back. "Oh, is this perhaps your Kami? Nice to meet you," he said hovering a hand to pat Ichigo. Ichigo almost coughed up blood as Jidanbou whipped his hand to pat his back.

"Uhh… Yeah… Nice to meet you too," he said rubbing his back and arm.

Jidanbou opened the gate for them and the two entered. Ichigo examined the place and sure enough it was as Orihime described it. It looked like a science facility. The lobby was buzzing with men in tux and angels floated by carrying some piles of paper, some injured headed over to the left side of the reception desk. Ichigo followed Orihime as she headed for the reception desk.

"Hinamori-chan!" she called out to the girl in the reception desk. She didn't seem to look like an angel as Ichigo observed that she wore normal office clothes.

"Orihime-chan! Long time no see," she greeted back. She checked the many computers in front of her and said, "I see, you met your 50th mark. I'll set an appointment with Urahara-san immediately."

"That'd be great," Orihime replied. She waited gleefully as Hinamori typed in her computer. Ichigo continued to examine the place. It seems no one really noticed his presence as everyone was busy. There were angels and agents teleporting and appearing suddenly in the lobby. Some took quick glances at him and gave a weird expression as if trying to remember him. 'Do I look familiar or something,' he thought.

"Well, it looks like you're set to wait for two more hours before Urahara-sama can see you. Yoruichi-sama also messaged me that your Kami, Kurosaki Ichigo-san is supposed to have his physical examination first as well as psychological tests for reference."

"What?" asked Ichigo registering Hinamori's information about their appointment. "I guess it won't hurt."

"Well then, kindly proceed to the West wing, examination room, room 506," said Hinamori as she turned to entertain another guest.

"Let's go Kurosaki-kun," said Orihime pulling his hand. Ichigo was still in a daze from the culture shock.

*.*.*.*

The two reached room 506, Ichigo huffed in exhaustion. "There was an elevator, why did we have to use the stairs?" he asked the angel.

"Oh, you won't reach the facility if we used the elevator, that is the rule made by Ishida Ryuuken-san," informed Orihime as she fixed and readied herself to enter the room. She knocked meekly and the door opened instantly to reveal a wide room, which was opposing to the regular door that was placed for it.

Ichigo had gotten used to the surprises that he simply just sighed and entered the room. The room had white tiles covering the walls, it smelled like a hospital with cabinets filled with medicine lining one side of the wall.

"Inoue-san?" called a young man's voice.

Orihime and Ichigo turned to look at who had spoken and a young man, much like Ichigo's age, stood across the room just by the counter wherein dissecting tools were laid.

"A-re? Uryuu-kun?" said Orihime. Ichigo flinched as he seemed to understand that she called the guy by his first name.

"Kurosaki-kun, this is Ishida Uryuu-kun," introduced Orihime. She went over to Ishida and started chatting with him.

"What are you doing here? Where is Ishida-san?" she asked. Ichigo watched the two carefully at how familiar they were of each other.

"Oh, Father was called on the field in America. So I took his place for now," said Ishida adjusting his glasses. He looked at the scowling Ichigo and gestured over the patient's bed. "Well then, umm, Kurosaki-san," he said as he looked at his clipboard. Ichigo stiffened at the thought that this guy had his records. "I'd like you to take a seat here for a while so I could run some tests.

Ichigo reluctantly sat on the bed as Ishida prepared the things for his examination. He grudgingly watched as the angel stayed by the man's side continuing their chat.

"It's been long since I got back here, how's everyone?" she asked gleefully.

"Well, Sado-san's going undercover in a school in Spain. Matsumoto-san would occasionally come here for supplies and tell stories about your condition," he said as he eyed Ichigo. Ichigo leaned back in surprise as Ishida turned to look back at Orihime and continue their conversation.

'Hmph, what's up with that guy?' he thought as his expression grew more irritated at the situation.

"Oh, Uryuu-kun, when are you going down to earth?" asked Orihime innocently.

'There she goes again,' thought Ichigo as he flinched at the sound of her calling the guy by his first name.

Ishida now went over to him and ran his tests. "You're the same age as me aren't you?" Ichigo asked.

"Yes," replied Ishida looking over at the machines by the bedside. "You are wondering how I got to work in this facility."

Ichigo was taken aback by the man's perceptiveness. "Ye-yeah."

"Well, my father is one of the original pioneers of HEAVEN's research. He is the head of the Medical Department. So it is my duty as his son to follow through in his footsteps," Ishida replied. Ichigo noted the resentment in his tone.

"What's up with this place?" asked Ichigo leaning back on the bed with his arm supporting his weight. "I mean, it's a really weird place, does it mean that the people working here, like you aren't human?"

"You know Kurosaki… There are some things that no matter how you question them, you'll always have a follow-up question. You'll never understand," said Ishida.

"Huh?! Are you saying I'm stupid?" interjected Ichigo clearly frustrated at his statement.

"How did you come up with that conclusion? I merely said that you will never get the answer that will make you understand. You'll just end up asking more," replied Ishida, starting to become frustrated himself.

"Then it doesn't matter if I clear things up right?"

"Why do you insist on knowing something you'll never understand?"

"It's because I'm involved!"

"That's just selfishness!"

Ichigo and Ishida glared at each other for a long time.

"Please stop arguing you two. Kurosaki-kun, don't be so hotheaded," scolded Orihime as she got in between them.

"What? So you're on his side?" exclaimed Ichigo.

"That's not it. Uryuu-kun is my friend. You should also try to get to know him," Orihime replied calmly.

Ichigo flinched at the sound of the name and couldn't take the emotions rousing in him. "There you go again! What's he to you? Calling him by his first name! It's really annoying!"

Orihime was taken aback by his yelling. "He's my friend," she said in finality, "I don't understand you. Why are you getting angry?"

"Tsk," Ichigo muttered looking at his side. He didn't noticed that he had already stood up, the wires tangled around him.

"You should cool your head first then," said Orihime, she wore a confused expression and ran off.

"Oi! Inoue!" called out Ichigo, but she had already left the room. 'Kami, why am I so stupid.'

"Your examination is all done, Kurosaki," interrupted Ishida. Ichigo looked at him with much annoyance. He pulled off the wires and tried to follow suit of Orihime but Ishida pulled him back.

"I won't let you hurt Inoue-san," he declared.

"Then we have the same views," Ichigo replied staring intently at the glasses that reflected his glare.

"I do not believe so Kurosaki," Ishida continued. "I don't approve of you as her Kami. I'll do with all my power to take her away from you, because you are the threat."

Ichigo pulled his arm away and walked back still glaring at Ishida. He quickly turned away to pursuit Orihime thinking back on Ishida's words.

~ end of chapter~

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:**

What do you think of Ishida as a love rival? I'm not really sure if he will be a love rival, but a rival for Ichigo nonetheless. Anyway, it's fun to think that Ichigo might be jealous at one point. Writing fan fiction has its perks 'cause you get to explore the characters and find out how they react to situations or what other emotions they may feel that you don't really see in the original series.

Anyway, sorry for the slow updates. I'm juggling student council work and studies right now, but I really will try to make up for it by writing something good (I hope).

Thank you to everyone who's been reading, reviewing, following and favoring this story. :)

R&R~


	10. Chapter 10: Realize

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach and its characters. They are the property and original creations of Tite Kubo.

**Chapter Ten: Realize**

Ichigo panted as he stared at an open hallway. There weren't doors or windows; just the vast hallway mocking his ignorance at the fact that he didn't know how to navigate the eccentric company.

"Damn it! Why didn't I just stop to ask for directions?!" he said scratching his head in annoyance. "Inoue!" he called out to the empty hall. "Inoue!"

"Shit!" he exclaimed as he continued down the path.

*.*.*.*

"So tell me again how you ended up in my quarters Orihime-chan?" asked Matsumoto as she lazily tilted her head on her office chair.

"Kurosaki-kun was being difficult," replied Orihime pouting her lips. "He even yelled at me."

"Doesn't he always do that to you?"

"But this time was different."

Matsumoto shifted from her position. "So tell me, how did it happen exactly?" she asked.

*.*.*.*

Ichigo aimlessly continued down the hallway. He desperately tried to listen to the wall to check if there was a room behind it but all he heard was silence. He was about to give up when he noticed a few meters from him was an old man sitting on a stool, beside something which Ichigo assumed to be a door and his way to freedom.

"Oi! Old man!" he called out running towards the first person he saw since he left the examination room.

The old man didn't bother to look his way but simply raised an eyebrow. Ichigo stopped in front of him and stepped back as he examined the door behind the old man. It was a door that seemed out of place from the facility. It had golden patterns adorning it and the knobs looked more medieval and antique than anything he had ever seen. The door had a symbol on it which was all too familiar to him.

"It's the same symbol as that on my gun," he said. Then turning to the old man he asked, "What's behind this door? Can you let me pass? I'm kind of lost and looking for a way out."

The old man simply opened one eye and then huffed on his long white beard. Ichigo was slightly frustrated but held in his anger. "I really need to get out of this darn hallway, so let me through." With that said he tried to pass through but the old man quickly stood up and hit Ichigo with his cane.

The old man raised a wrinkly finger and went, "Tsk, tsk, tsk." He sat back closer to the door to further secure it.

"What the hell? Fine, if you won't let me in, at least tell me the way back to the lobby."

The old man again opened one eye and huffed on his beard. Ichigo had had enough. He clenched his fist and grabbed the old man's collar. The old man opened both his eyes and spoke, "Your anger will be the cause of all your problems, especially your love problems."

Then the old man held Ichigo's hand and gripped it tightly until Ichigo had no choice but to let go. He held his hand and rubbed off the pain. 'This old man is stronger than he looks. And what about love problems?!' he thought as his scowl deepened.

"Fine, if you're not gonna be of any help, I'll just get out of this stupid place myself."

"Wait a minute," called out the old man. Ichigo turned to look back and saw that the man was holding out his hand in a "come here" manner.

"What? Stop fooling around old man," he said waving a hand at him. "I'll be going now."

"Ah, but you have to listen to my story first. Then I will tell you how to get to the lobby."

Ichigo stopped in his tracks and went back to face the old man. The old man stood up and pulled a chair from God-knows-where over to Ichigo. Ichigo shrugged the curiosity and sat across from the old man.

"Well then," he began. "Forgive this old man's wish but I will now tell you a favorite story of mine."

Ichigo calmed down and listened intently as the old man started.

"This is the story of the angel who went down to earth and fell in love with a mortal. The Evening of the Seventh."

*.*.*.*

"Hahahaha!" bellowed Matsumoto, holding onto her belly and wiping stray tears on the side of her eyes.

"Eh? What's so funny Rangiku-san?" asked Orihime confused that the older woman had laughed after she had told her story.

"Oh my Orihime-chan, that's the funniest thing I've heard in a long time."

"Wha—What do you mean?"

"What's even funnier is that you're not even aware of it," replied Matsumoto settling down.

"Eh?"

"That boy, he's jealous!" she exclaimed at the questioning look Orihime gave. "Obviously he disliked Ishida being familiar with you because he apparently likes you, and apparently, he doesn't even know it himself! Ahahaha! Classic!"

"Jealous? What is that?" asked Orihime watching Matsumoto go back and forth in laughter.

"Oh, I forgot about you being oblivious to human emotions. My dear, jealousy is the feeling when you see someone you like having fun or is getting comfortable with someone else."

Orihime contemplated at Matsumoto's musing. 'Would that mean I was also jealous of Kuchiki-san then?' she thought as she traced back the memories of her with Ichigo and Rukia.

"Ah, Orihime-chan, I suggest you don't tell anything to Kurosaki, let him understand on his own," snickered Matsumoto. "Ah, youth!"

Orihime stared into space as she tried to comprehend the feelings within her and the ones Ichigo were experiencing, or what Matsumoto had told her.

*.*.*.*

"It's a really ancient story," the old man began.

"_A time when Celestial beings freely roamed the earth, a goddess named Vega would come down to earth to bathe. Vega was the weaver of the skies, the Milky Way so to speak. In order for her to come down to earth, she used the power of her magical robe. One day while she was bathing, a young lad caught a glimpse of the goddess. He instantly fell in love. That lad was a simple cow herder, his name was Altair. And now, Altair was so captivated, so tempted that he took the magical robe of the goddess. Because of what he did, Vega was unable to go back to Heaven. Now, Altair took this as an opportunity to bargain for the love of Vega. Eventually, the two married. But not everyone was joyous of this union. The Weaver's father, the Jade Emperor demanded that Vega return to his side in Heaven, for there wasn't anyone good enough to weave the skies. But Vega, who wanted more than anything to be with her husband, disobeyed the Emperor. In time, Vega missed her father, so she took her robe which Altair hid in a box and went back to Heaven. The Emperor used this as a chance to stop his daughter from leaving his side again. He created a river between the Milky Way which made Vega unable to travel back to earth. Distraught by her father's punishment she lay in Heaven, doing nothing but woe and cry at her predicament. The Jade Emperor noticed that his daughter completely abandoned her duties as well as the cow herder back on earth. With this, the emperor allowed the two lovers to see each other once a year, on the seventh day of the seventh month."_

The old man huffed on his beard as Ichigo stared back at him. "So…That's it?" asked Ichigo. "What's the point of telling me that story?"

The old man didn't budge from his seat nor answered back.

"Oi! Old man!" called out Ichigo, deceptively the man was already asleep. Ichigo snapped his fingers in front of the man. "Geez old timer, you fall asleep on your own story."

"Anyway, I listened to your tall tale, can you at least tell me the way back to the lobby?"

The old man pointed to the end of the hallway. "End of this path, turn right."

"All right thanks," said Ichigo standing up from his seat and headed for the end of the corridor.

"You must remember that story Kurosaki Ichigo. It is the key," said the old man as Ichigo left.

"Right, hey, wait a minute how did you know my na-," replied Ichigo as he turned around to find that the old man and the door he was guarding disappeared.

*.*.*.*

Ichigo finally reached the lobby. And quickly went over to the receptionist, Hinamori.

"Hey! Have you seen Inoue?" he asked rushing in front of her desk.

"Eh? No I haven't."

"Kurosaki-kun!" bellowed the voice of his subject.

"Inoue!" he called back turning around to find the auburn haired girl running over to him, and of course slipping at the very instant she was a feet away from him, toppling them both to the ground.

"Oi! That was dangerous!" he exclaimed rubbing his head.

"I'm sorry," Orihime apologized. The two then noticed their position and quickly fixed them.

"Where've you been? I was looking all over for you!" interjected Ichigo holding out a hand to help the angel stand up. "I think I've been roaming the halls for over an hour now. Hope we're not late for the appointment."

"Eh? But we've only separated for 15 minutes," said Orihime looking at Ichigo.

Ichigo stared at the confused look Orihime gave and concluded that she will not be able to give him a straight answer.

"That's because, you are new to this place. The effect of its magic made you think you've been roaming it for over an hour now," answered someone from behind them.

A woman with dark purple hair, chocolate colored skin and feline eyes approached them. She was holding a clipboard and on her ear was an earpiece with a microphone on it, probably to quickly answer calls. "It is a pleasure to meet you Kurosaki Ichigo."

"You are?" stuttered Ichigo as he held out his hand to shake the woman's offered hand.

"Shihouin Yoruichi, I'm Urahara's secretary."

~end of chapter~

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:**

Sorry, it's short, bear with me for now. Anyway, I'm still torn between Ichigo having a love rival or not. But doesn't matter; just have to convey the story right.

The old man is Genryuusai if you're wondering. I wrote the story of Tanabata the way my grandpa would tell it to me. Hope it wasn't confusing or boring (I'd always fall asleep halfway through my grandpa's stories). Anyway, hope you liked this one.

Thank you to everyone who's been reading, reviewing, following and favoring this story.

R&R~


	11. Chapter 11: Wired Life

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach and its characters. They are the property and original creations of Tite Kubo.

**Chapter Eleven: Wired Life**

"This is the report you obtained on the boy?" said a man in the darkness.

"It is incomplete sir," replied another man, his deep monotonic voice echoed in the darkness. "THEY are protecting him."

"From what? The truth?" uttered the first man. "They cannot hide it any longer. The first specimen of Urahara's research will eventually come to us."

He turned to look at the other man, "Go now and execute the plan. We'll make it as slow and as painful as possible."

*.*.*.*

"As you can see here on the left, is our educational facility, this is where we teach the 'newborn' angels about humans, their duties and other basic knowledge," informed Yoruichi as she gestured to the glass window of a large study hall.

"How are angels born?" asked Ichigo as he raised a pencil to jot down on his notebook, he and Orihime wore glasses as if cosplaying nerds eager for knowledge.

"That is classified information Kurosaki, unless Urahara thought otherwise," replied Yoruichi continuing with their tour.

Ichigo looked over at Orihime who was clicking on a small button on her glasses making it disappear.

"This eye glass is cool. I mean, it has a map, GPS, tracking device and you can easily detect where the bathrooms are," said Ichigo.

"It comes in different styles as well, you can turn it invisible like mine, press the button for more than 3 seconds," replied Orihime as she adjusted her unseen glasses.

"Ehem," coughed Yoruichi. "If you have time to act all lovey-dovey, then I suggest we continue with this tour."

The two blush at Yoruichi's comment and continued with their walk. "I swear that woman seems to hate me," whispered Ichigo as he examined the rest of the facility.

Orihime giggled at his comment making him blush a deeper shade of red, but of course he hid it from the angel's eyes.

"I'm sorry about what happened earlier," said Ichigo stammering as he did. "It's just that, I'm, well, you know, not sure about that guy hanging around you."

Orihime looked over at Ichigo whose head was turned trying to nonchalantly look at the facilities they passed by. "Don't worry," she said. "Ishida-kun is a kind person."

Ichigo was surprised and turned to look at Orihime who was now distracted by some angels she knew over at one of the rooms. 'She called him by his last name,' he thought.

"Oi! Stop getting distracted. It's not like I want to tour you. It is of course a protocol for this company," called out Yoruichi.

They passed by a door with a yellow warning sign. Yoruichi explained that it was the research department and no one can enter it without a pass. Suddenly as they were about to leave for the next floor an explosion came from the research department. Smoke sneaked out the cracks from the door.

"Get out of the way," said Yoruichi running over to the door but was stopped as it swung open letting out a colorful smoke covering the hallway.

"I should not let you touch anything Urahara," said an old man's voice. "Nemu, clean up this man's mess."

"As you wish, Mayuri-sama," said a girl's voice. The smoke cleared to reveal Urahara covered in rainbow colored powder. The man who spoke had a weird appearance. His face was painted black and his headpiece looked like a pharaoh's crown. His white lab gown was now adorned with the same rainbow colored dust.

"Urahara!" called out Yoruichi as she went over to the man. "What the hell is this mess?"

"Ahaha, I was trying out something," he replied scratching his head. He coughed a few dusts which went over to Yoruichi's face. The woman got annoyed and punched the man in the gut.

"Uwaah!" cried out Orihime as she and Ichigo watched the scene.

"Oho, it seems Kurosaki and Orihime-chan are here. Great timing," he greeted as he conjured his fan up to his face. "Shall we head over to my office?"

Urahara passed the frustrated scientist who said, "I'll put a note on your desk later." He stormed back inside the research facility.

Urahara passed Yoruichi who handed him a card. He faced the wall and swiped the card in front of him. Just as he did, a touch screen keyboard materialized from the wall. Urahara typed in a code and a door opened on his left.

"Shall we?" he gestured entering the door. Ichigo and the others followed after him and as the door closed behind them, it disappeared and blended with the wall.

Urahara's office looked like a regular workplace, much like the principal's office in Karakura Academy as Ichigo noted. The walls were pure white with a few noticeable colored lights lighting up here and there like a techno beat.

"As promised, we have prepared a remedy to severe your connection during battle," Urahara said as he shuffled through his messy desk. "Ah, here it is."

He handed a small pillbox to Ichigo. It had strawberry designs on it. "It is strawberry flavored, Orihime-chan's favorite," informed Urahara.

Ichigo blushed slightly, 'What the fuck am I thinking again?! It's strawberry, not me!' he thought as he shook his head. He placed the pillbox in his pocket.

"Remember to only take it once before you go out to battle. Pop in two or more, I can't guarantee the side effects will be good," reminded Urahara.

"Yeah, yeah, one pill got it," said Ichigo.

"One for both of you," added Urahara. "And did I mention you have to kiss once you take the pill, that's how you activate it."

"Yeah, yeah, one for both of us, and we'll ki—ki-KISS?!" yelled Ichigo. Orihime was holding onto her cheeks which turn red like a tomato.

Ichigo blushed madly. He felt his heart race as he took a slight glimpse at Orihime who was muttering, "Kiss? Eh? What should I do? Oh my…"

"If—if that's what it takes for Inoue to avoid getting hurt…. I—I—"he stuttered, choking as he said it.

"Just kidding!" exclaimed Urahara. Ichigo stared at the laughing Urahara. He came up to him in frustration and held on his collar.

"Effin' Son of-," he began but was interrupted by Orihime's voice.

"Yoruichi-san, I don't know how the "kiss" works. I've only ever seen it once."

"Oh, you see," said Yoruichi moving closer and whispering to Orihime who blushed at her every comment.

"Hey! Watch what you're teaching her!" yelled Ichigo.

"Now, now Kurosaki-san, let's be civilized," said Urahara.

"I should just give you a punch or two," Ichigo said letting go of Urahara's collar. "So how does the pill work anyway?"

"Oh, it activates when you exchange saliva. Before swallowing the pill, you have to exchange saliva," replied Urahara pointing up his index finger.

"Oh, so that's how it works," said Ichigo then turned to look back at Urahara, "Are you fucking kidding me?! It's technically the same thing!" he exclaimed comically flipping a table.

"Ah, but, that's what you say when you put feelings into it," Urahara said eyeing Ichigo in a somewhat serious way. "I'm saying it in a scientific manner, because that's how it'll work. When you exchange saliva, the pill detects the DNA of your partner; this'll confirm which connection to severe."

"You and Orihime-chan have a hidden connection which is activated during battle, which means, when you use the robe's power," continued Urahara. "The connection is like a thread or a wire, the pill will be able to cut it by knowing which connection it is, technically, yours. So by "kissing", it confirms the connection and severs it. Do you get my point Kurosaki-kun?"

Ichigo looked dumbfounded but regained his cool. "Yeah, I got you."

"Well then, moving on," said Urahara finally sitting down on his chair. He gestured for the three to sit as well.

"I'll allow Yoruichi to brief you about the recent reports we have about the "Reapers", the one you encountered not too long ago," said Urahara.

"Ahem," began Yoruichi, "This is the report based on Szayel Aporro Granz. He was exterminated by one of our angel's, Nemu, Kurosutchi Mayuri-san's angel."

Ichigo's eyes widened in shock at the news, he looked at Orihime who also wore the same expression.

"How did he?" asked Ichigo.

"He tried to infiltrate one of Mayuri-san's research facilities in Karakura. Unfortunately for him, that mad scientist didn't like his toys to be played with," answered Yoruichi.

Ichigo sat upright letting Yoruichi know he was eager to know more.

"As I was saying, his body was brought to the main facility to be studied. It was found out that he had high amounts of Dark matter. No traces of White matter whatsoever were found. It seems that reapers aren't as different from angels as we think they are."

"Slow down, what's this deal with white and dark matter anyway?" asked Ichigo.

"White matter is the power extracted from the robes, it is of celestial origins. Dark matter is simply the darkness we find in humans."

"I don't get it. So does it mean that everyone could be a reaper?" asked Ichigo.

"Let me explain," interrupted Urahara. "Did you know that Gods, angels, and celestial beings used to walk among us on earth?"

"Maybe, but that's just a myth right?"

"Well, that's what society makes you think. The world is mysterious and it is this that made minds like mine curious. I had a dream of one day creating a source of power that'll make humans like Gods. I've searched for it and I found the robe. It had the energy of these celestial beings; we in turn extracted it and coined it as white matter."

"Whose we?" asked Orihime innocently.

Urahara gave a serious look. He placed his fan down on the table and looked intently at Ichigo and Orihime.

"I used to work with someone who had the same ideals, his name was Aizen Sousuke. We tried our best to extract the pure White matter. Unfortunately it had side effects. White matter of course like water to fire, like antidote to poison, like sun to rain, had its counterpart. The Dark matter is a dormant power within humans. It is what drives us to SIN. When these are extracted purely it results in a great power. When put together, it creates. Like matter to anti-matter creating the universe."

"Aizen wanted more of it, but the more he desired and worked for the white matter to be extracted, all the more the darkness rose in him. I can remember it, those words he said that day," said Urahara.

"_We don't need the white matter to be perfect human beings! We have our own power; the darkness is stronger in humans. It'll surpass even the greatest beings!"_

"I had told him to stop but he had extracted, not the white matter but the dark matter from within him. He took a piece of the original robe and ran off."

"What happened then? Is he the reason for why there are SINs?" asked Ichigo.

"Yes. Years later, he had perfected the use of dark matter. I, of course, never gave up in researching on the powers of the robe; I expanded my research and hired scientists and people I know who would greatly help me. And then I created the first angel."

"Who is?" asked Ichigo and Orihime at the same time.

Urahara smiled and pointed at Yoruichi, "My wife. I removed her DNA after she died, and using the white matter's power for creation, she exists, the same exact replica. But of course, she will never be what my wife used to be. The personality, the memories…" said Urahara with a gloomy voice.

Yoruichi looked at him with the same expression. For a moment the room was silent. Ichigo turned to look at Orihime. 'Is she the same, someone who had died and was revived due to the power of the white matter?'

"Some of the angels are not dead people. Some were born from the white matter itself, like Rangiku and Nemu. And some are those who volunteered to give up their being to become angels," said Urahara as if reading Ichigo's thoughts.

"So the reapers, they were brought into this world just like the angels? So it is Aizen's doing?"

"That's why I worry, you see Kurosaki-san, Aizen Sousuke is dead."

~end of chapter~

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:**

Oh I wonder how Ichigo and Orihime's first kiss will be like. If you've noticed, some of the titles of the chapters are song titles. Sometimes I just conveniently listen to them while writing. Urahara's revealed a lot in this chapter but there are still missing pieces to the story. I hope you will stick through it till the end.

Thank you to everyone who's been reading, reviewing, following and favoring this story.

R&R~


	12. Chapter 12: Strike with the Guillotine

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach and its characters. They are the property and original creations of Tite Kubo.

**Chapter Twelve: Strike with the Guillotine**

Ichigo lay on his bed contemplating on the events of that night. The time in heaven was very different, what felt like 5 hours was actually an hour and a half in the real world. It's as if the company itself was in a different dimension.

He remembered the rest of the conversation he and Urahara had before he left.

Flashback

"Kurosaki, I'd like to talk to you alone," said Urahara. He allowed the two women to leave the room.

"The reapers are probably the living legacy to Aizen's evil bout. We don't know who's behind this, but I hope you will cooperate. I hate to admit it, but we need your strength. You have far more greater potential than you think, Kurosaki."

Ichigo looked at Urahara seriously. His mind rang with questions but he doubts that the man would answer them honestly.

"Inoue, she used to be someone in the living world," Ichigo stated.

Urahara raised his head to look at Ichigo clearly. "Why are you so curious Kurosaki?"

"It's just that, nothing."

"Inoue Orihime, she was a victim of a SIN," said Urahara.

"She was possessed? I thought you couldn't die from that," argued Ichigo.

"No. Her brother, Sora Inoue, was possessed. Unfortunately at that time, the angel on duty disappeared without a trace, when I got there, we eradicated her brother, and there was no hope of saving him. We found Orihime clutching a teddy bear and her brother's picture. She was already dead."

Ichigo stared at Urahara in disbelief. He tried to find the words to say but his heart sank at the sad thought. 'Her brother turned into a SIN, he killed her.'

"Kurosaki," said Urahara. "I suggest that you control your feelings."

"What do you mean?" asked Ichigo looking at Urahara with a distrustful expression.

"You should not delve into those kinds of emotions. Orihime is not the same person as she was, she is an angel now, and she's been given a new life. I'm warning you, this is for your own good. Do not fall in love with her. It is for the best."

End of Flashback

Ichigo sat up on his bed. He looked at the clock on his bedside table which read 2:43am. He heaved out a heavy sigh and turned his head facing the other direction. For a moment he stared at a pink door that somewhat glowed in the darkness. 'Inoue's probably asleep,' he thought. Ichigo got up and left his room. 'I'll just go get a glass of water.'

He slowly crept down the stairs and saw a faint light coming from the kitchen. 'Is the old man up at this hour?'

He slowly paced towards the kitchen, cautious of who might be in there. He was about to enter when he suddenly felt a soft pat on his shoulder.

"Kurosaki-kun?" asked Orihime in a whisper. "What are you doing?"

Ichigo abruptly turned his head, "Inoue?" he said. Suddenly getting distracted by the sound of the refrigerator closing, he turned back his head to the kitchen.

To his surprise it was empty. His senses started to sharpen and he quickly looked around for any sign of an intruder. Orihime clutched his shirt as he did.

"Go back to your room Inoue," he said.

"But, I heard you go out and I'm a little worried."

"Just, go, an intruder might be in the house," he warned when suddenly the lights turned on.

"I-CHI-GO!" called out his dad jumping to kick him with both feet.

Ichigo evaded in time and yelled at his father, "It's 3 in the morning! What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"I got hungry so I grabbed something to eat," said Isshin as he munched on some chips.

"Geez… stop acting like a burglar in our own house."

"Well, yeah, sorry 'bout that. What are you doing still up?" asked Isshin. He turned his glance behind Ichigo. Orihime got confused, 'Can this man see me?'

"I was just gonna get some water," replied Ichigo waving off his father.

"I'll be heading back to my room then," said Isshin.

As soon as his father left Ichigo turned to Orihime, "You should go back to your room; I'll just get you some water if you want one."

"Oh… okay," said Orihime in a worried tone. She headed for the stairs when a hand had patted her on the back.

"It is great that you are worried about my son, but you shouldn't be up this late," said Isshin.

"Eh? You can see me?" asked Orihime shocked that Ichigo's father smiled at her in affirmation.

"But, let's just keep that a secret for now, ok?" said Isshin putting a finger on his lips in a "shh" kind of way. "Anyway, I hope he's being a good kid, you should lock your door though, just in case."

Orihime wore a questioning look as Isshin laughed heartily up the steps.

"What are you still doing here?" asked Ichigo from the kitchen.

"Oh, I was… waiting for you," said Orihime as she thought of how peculiar it was for Ichigo's dad to keep it a secret.

*.*.*.*

Ichigo's alarm echoed throughout his room. He had been up all night thinking about the events in HEAVEN. But what really kept Ichigo up was another statement Urahara had said.

"_Don't forget to kiss when you take the pill. Kiss before you swallow, 'kay?" said Urahara waving his fan as Ichigo and Orihime got in the taxi._

Ichigo placed his palm on his forehead. "I think I'm going to get a headache."

"GOOD~MORNING~ I-CHI-GO!" exclaimed his father striking him on the gut which unfortunately Ichigo didn't evade.

"Whoa! Ichigo! What's happened to you?"

"Stupid old man… Get off me!" yelled Ichigo shoving his father off the bed.

"Hmm, would you like to talk? You're not yourself today son," insisted Isshin. "Let me give you a hug."

"Will you fucking stop it already!" yelled Ichigo pushing his dad's face away from him.

"Is that how you treat your father now?" cried Isshin dramatically.

The door to Orihime's room quietly opened distracting Ichigo. He felt like he swallowed a rock that wouldn't go down. His hands suddenly got sweaty as he stared and waited for the auburn beauty to come out of her room.

Isshin noted his son's reaction and quickly stood up. "I'll be heading down for breakfast; you too should get something to eat before going to school. Or else Yuzu's going to be mad." Isshin smirked and pranced out of Ichigo's room.

"I…is it safe to come out now Kurosaki-kun?" asked a voice from the tiny opening of the room.

"Huh? Ye-yeah," replied Ichigo shaking himself off his daze. "Dad can't see you so you don't have to hide."

"Oh, but…" began Orihime but as she came out. She looked at the questioning look Ichigo was giving her, "Yeah, you're right. Ahehe."

"Anyway, you should get some breakfast first. I'll head down after I shower a bit," said Ichigo trying to avoid the girl's eyes.

Ichigo had finished his morning routine and went down to have breakfast. It was still a sight to behold that the angel nonchalantly ate her breakfast on the table without anyone noticing her. 'I wonder if they see floating bread. Nah, Toushiro-san said that whatever she's holding becomes masked with her.'

Ichigo sat beside Orihime. He watched as she took a bite of from her bread. He gaped for a moment at her enticing lips. He then slammed his fist on the table which made everyone jump in surprise.

"Ichi-nii, is something wrong?" asked Karin, his dark haired younger sister.

"Nah, it's nothing, there was a fly, on the table," he quickly replied.

"Uwaaah! Onii-chan! There are bags under your eyes! You haven't been sleeping well!" exclaimed Yuzu noticing the dark circles forming around Ichigo's eyes.

"Exams are coming up," said Ichigo trying to avoid any further conversation.

"Is it about a girl?" teased his father.

Ichigo almost choked on his coffee. "What the hell are you talking about?!"

"Is it Rukia-chan?" asked Yuzu innocently.

Orihime who was quietly watching the family scenario felt a slight pain in her chest. She was very happy about their time together at the arcade, the movies, the boutique, the park and in HEAVEN, that she forgot that Ichigo had already been thinking of someone else.

'When Rangiku-san and I talked, I finally confirmed my feelings for Kurosaki-kun. But that doesn't change the fact that he still has feelings for Kuchiki-san,' Orihime thought as she looked down on her lap. 'Why is it so painful to think these sorts of thoughts? Do humans really feel this way?'

"Enough! I'm heading out. See you at dinner," Ichigo finally said. He stormed out of the house as Orihime followed suit.

"That boy needs to be honest with his feelings," whispered Isshin as he looked up at his wife's portrait.

*.*.*.*

Ichigo had been avoiding Orihime the whole walk to school. Every time Orihime would start a conversation he would side track it and leave the talk hanging.

'Mou… what is wrong with him? Does it have to do with him talking privately to Urahara-san?' she thought. 'Ah! That's probably it. Then something must be making him upset.'

"Inoue," said Ichigo as they reached the school gate. "You don't have to worry about me, I'm fine."

He turned to look at Orihime and attempted to smile. "I'll go ahead; I have to check on something. See you in class."

Orihime watched as Ichigo ran off. "You tell me not to worry but it's obvious you are not fine Kurosaki-kun."

Orihime continued to walk sighing every time she thought of Ichigo. Distracted by her thoughts she suddenly bumped into someone. "Ouch," she yelped as she held her nose.

"Huh? Watch where you're going, woman," said a husky voice. Orihime turned to look at the person she had bumped into and saw a tall young man with icy blue hair. His eyebrows met as he stared down at Orihime.

"Ah, err, I'm sorry," she said bowing her head.

"Hmph, whatever," he said as he waved Orihime off. He started to walk when, "A-ta-ta-ta…"

He looked behind him to see that Orihime's hair was tangled on the strap of his leather bag. He wore an annoyed expression and started to walk again.

"Umm… wait! Can you please stop for a moment? I just have to untangle myself," Orihime said keeping up with the young man's pace so that her hair wouldn't get pulled off.

"I'm going to be late," he replied as he walked faster. Orihime jogged after him until they reached the classroom.

"This is my room," said Orihime. "You're a classmate of mine?" she asked.

"I'm new here," he replied with a grunt and opened the classroom door. Everyone turned their heads their way and started murmuring. Ichigo sat up as he saw the Orihime was beside another man, one he didn't know.

At that point, the teacher had entered the room. "Oh, you're here early Jaegerjaquez-san," greeted Misato. "Hmm? Inoue-san? You two know each other?"

"Eh, no sensei, not in that sense," replied Orihime.

"Well then, why don't we start the class, go ahead and introduce yourself," said Misato gesturing over to the front.

Orihime's hair was still tangled up and she felt a blush crept on her face as everyone stared at the two of them. She glanced at Ichigo whose eyebrows met at an angry stare.

"Yo, I'm Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez. I'd rather be called Grimmjow, so If anyone calls me by my last name, I'm gonna punch the lights out of you."

The class was quiet. Misato felt sweat ran down her forehead. "Well then, umm, Grimmjow-san, you may take a seat. Errr, probably beside Inoue-san since you two seem to be stuck together."

Ichigo eyed Grimmjow as he sat at a seat beside Orihime. Orihime finally got her hair unstuck. "Umm, Jagerjaquez..."

Grimmjow glared at Orihime before she could finish her sentence. "What did you call me?"

"Errr, Grimmjow-san," she corrected. "Sorry for bumping into you."

Grimmjow merely waved off Orihime's apology and gave his attention to the teacher.

"Oi, she just apologized to you, don't you think you should say something?" said Ichigo, frustrated at Grimmjow's haughty aura.

"What's it to you?" replied Grimmjow.

"It's called being polite."

"Tse—Whatever."

Ichigo and Grimmjow stared daggers at each other. Orihime tried to relax the atmosphere but failed miserably.

*.*.*.*

"The plan is in gear," said a deep monotonic voice of a man. "Heaven will fall."

~end of chapter~

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:**

Waaah! I'm really sorry this took longer to put up than I planned… I promise to put up at least once a week. Whew. So much is happening this August. Anyway, any theory's on Grimmjow? Is he a Reaper? A Kami? Or just a regular human being? Hmmm… anyway, tell me what you think. Ichigo and Orihime's kiss next chapter! Thanks for being patient. I'll put it up as soon as I can!

Thank you to everyone who's been reading, reviewing, following and favoring this story. :)

R&R~


	13. Chapter 13: Sakura Kiss

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach and its characters. They are the property and original creations of Tite Kubo.

**Chapter Thirteen: Sakura Kiss**

Ichigo washed his face for the nth time in the men's room. He couldn't stop thinking of how to get through kissing Orihime. Every time he thought of the situation happening he felt heat rising to his cheeks.

'Annoying feeling,' Ichigo thought. But deep inside this is not the first time he had felt this. Although when he used to feel this for Rukia, the feelings were different. When back then his heart would only bang on his chest, this time he feels like his heart wants to jump out of his chest.

"Get yourself together," he said to himself. He walked out of the comfort room only to get a mini heart attack from seeing Orihime's worried face.

"Are you ok Kurosaki-kun? You've been in the bathroom for more than 30 minutes now."

"I'm fine, I think I have diarrhea."

"Diarrhea?" repeated Orihime with a confused expression.

"Umm, it's nothing you should be fussing over for, come on let's just go, PE's next period right?" said Ichigo. He gritted his teeth. "What's our PE for today?"

"The boys are doing basketball, girls will be having gymnastics," replied Orihime.

'Great, just what I need,' thought Ichigo. Whenever the girls would have gymnastics, they'd wear bloomers which he hated now more than ever. He is still a man after all.

Ichigo tried his best to concentrate at basketball as the girls warmed up for gymnastics. The boys in his class ogled at the girls as they bent down to reach their toes. 'This seriously isn't helping me concentrate,' he thought as he passed the ball at his friend Keigo who got hit in the head distracted by the wonder of bloomers presented before them.

"Ichigo!" called out Renji. "You better not be checking Rukia's fine ass!"

"What the fuck Renji?! Why would I want to see some midget's ass," said Ichigo as he received the ball from Renji. He then felt a swift kick behind his head. "OWW!" cried Ichigo holding onto the back of his head.

"Who are you calling midget?" said the petite woman.

"Rukia! You—" said Ichigo but was distracted by the "oohs" and "aahs" of his classmates. Orihime jogged gleefully to the group of girls to start warming up.

"Oi!" exclaimed Rukia slapping Ichigo back to reality. "Drool's coming out of your mouth you pervert."

"What? Shut the fuck up and go back to your group," Ichigo retorted wiping his mouth to check if there was drool.

"Whatever," said Rukia turning her back and waving off her hand at Ichigo. "Someone might steal her away from you if you're not careful."

"Huh?" uttered Ichigo.

"She just told you that you have no balls! Man up!" exclaimed Renji slapping his back.

"SonnaofaB—"yelped Ichigo massaging his back. He continued to play basketball trying his best not to turn his head at Orihime. Unfortunately for him, his eyes decide otherwise.

Orihime's hair was tied in a ponytail and her flawless legs shined in the afternoon light of the gym. Chizuru, one of their classmates who swing a little differently from other girls grabbed Orihime's boobs from behind.

"Uwaah! Chizuru-chan!"

"Orihime! These are really nice!"

Ichigo gaped at the scene as some of the boys whistled in satisfaction. "Hey, don't get distracted!" yelled a husky voice. Ichigo looked at the source when suddenly a ball came straight at his face. "WAM!"

"AH… OUCH!" yelled Ichigo. His yell echoed in the gym distracting everyone and placing their attention to them.

"That's what you get for keeping your attention away from the game," said Grimmjow smugly.

"Fucking bastard," muttered Ichigo. He glared back at Grimmjow who looked down on him as he held his nose. Ichigo picked up the ball and stood up straight.

Grimmjow smirked and looked at Ichigo then at Orihime who was watching the sudden commotion at their side. "How 'bout we make this game more fun?" said Grimmjow.

Keigo whispered at Renji, "Where's the PE instructor anyway, shouldn't we stop this tension?"

"He's flirting with the school nurse over there," said Renji nodding his head over at the gym door. "Anyway, let's not tell him. This sounds fun."

"What are you talking about new guy?" asked Ichigo.

"How about we make a bet," said Grimmjow.

"I'm listening."

"That girl over there, she'll be the prize."

"No fucking way I'm betting her. This is about you and me, isn't it?" Ichigo said angrily.

"How about we let her in on this then," Grimmjow said.

He called out Orihime to come over. Confused, she went over beside Ichigo. "What's happening?"

"Whatever he says… Just say no."

"Well then, let me explain," began Grimmjow. "We'll play one on one in basketball; if I win you'll have to be my girl for a week."

Everyone's jaw dropped. "Well, that was unexpected," said Renji.

"If I say no," said Orihime sternly.

Grimmjow smirked and stared into Orihime's eyes intently, as if conveying his message telepathically. Orihime felt her head sting for a moment. "I'll make him my manservant for a week," replied Grimmjow.

Somehow, Orihime felt a dread run through her. Ichigo intervened and said, "That's not a problem with me. Don't get her involved in this."

"No," said Orihime sternly.

"See, she disagrees."

"No, Kurosaki-kun, I meant, I don't want you to be his manservant. I'll take the offer."

"Are you crazy?!" yelled Ichigo.

Orihime looked at Ichigo pleadingly. Ichigo swallowed heavily and turned to look at Grimmjow, "And if I win?"

"I'll be your manservant for the week," replied Grimmjow spreading his arms out and smirking. "How about it, let's play."

*.*.*.*

"Urahara," said Yoruichi as she entered the man's office. Urahara sat on his chair focused on the papers laid on his desk.

"Maybe it's not such a good thing to have Kurosaki as Kami, especially for Orihime-chan," said Urahara scanning the papers in his hand.

"What do you mean?" asked Yoruichi sitting on the couch across Urahara's table.

"I'm not sure yet but I have to look further into this," replied Urahara. "Yoruichi, have an extra surveillance on Kurosaki and his family. I feel some forces are stirring."

"As you wish," replied Yoruichi.

Urahara stared at his paper which contained Orihime's family history.

*.*.*.*

"FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!" yelled Ichigo as he fell to his knees panting. He had lost to Grimmjow. "Let's change the bet. I'll be your manservant!"

Grimmjow smirked, "Why do you insist on that?"

"Inoue isn't part of this. Let's not get her involved."

"She chose to be part of this. Who are you to stop her decisions?"

Orihime watched as Ichigo slammed his fist on the gym floor. "It's all right Kurosaki-kun, it's just for a week, and I doubt Grimmjow-san will do anything bad."

"That's not it!" yelled Ichigo. "Shit!"

"Oi, are you her boyfriend or something?" asked Grimmjow squatting next to Ichigo.

"NO! That's beside the point." he replied. Orihime felt her heart sank. 'Of course, he is only being protective of me because I'm his angel. It doesn't mean he has feelings for me,' she thought.

"Then, there's no problem. You ain't got the right to tell her what to decide," said Grimmjow. His eyes were mischievous and he smirked mockingly at Ichigo.

"Renji, should we intervene?" asked Rukia.

"No, this is something between men. Ichigo has to realize something on his own. I'm actually happy this guy had the sense to put Ichigo in a corner," said Renji.

"Are you sure?" asked Rukia.

"Don't worry," replied Renji turning to her and caressing her cheeks. "We're not just gonna stand here and do nothing. We'll find out this guy's real intentions. And of course we'll help Ichigo realize he's a real pervert."

Renji and Rukia watched as Grimmjow went over to Orihime and pulled her by the waist. "I say we commemorate our new relationship next week by starting it with a date?"

Orihime tried to shrug the disturbance she had been feeling ever since Grimmjow had stared into her eyes. She looked at Ichigo who swiftly avoided her gaze. 'I'm sorry Kurosaki-kun, but I have a feeling you will be in trouble with this man.'

*.*.*.*

"I'll be heading out. I'm meeting up with Renji and Rukia," said Ichigo as he wrapped his coat and placed his hat on his head.

"What's with the get up? You look like a suspicious person Ichi-nii," said Karin.

"It's cold out," said Ichigo. It was cold out since it was December.

"Hmm, yeah, I guess you're right. It might start snowing soon," said Karin. "Ah, Christmas is coming; I have to prepare for the exams too!"

Ichigo got out before he gets scolded for going out when exams are in the corner.

He met with Renji and Rukia just by the train station. "Hey," he called out.

"All right! You got in gear!" exclaimed Rukia. "Now for the finishing touches," Rukia placed shades on Ichigo's face.

"There," she said in satisfaction. "This way they won't know it's us." Rukia stood beside Renji in a triumphant pose. Both donned the same coat, hat and shades.

"What the fuck is this?!" Ichigo exclaimed as he pulled the shades off his face and threw it to the ground. "I don't want to look any more of a stalker than I already am!"

"So you're admitting you are a stalker?" said Renji.

"Huh?! You wanna rub it in shit-face?!" exclaimed Ichigo holding up Renji's collar and putting his face close to his.

"All right, enough, let's go before we lose track of the two," interrupted Rukia.

They started their "investigation" at Orihime and Grimmjow's meeting place, near a café at the central market.

"I asked Inoue everything. They said they were going to meet up here in Café Hana. Then they're going to watch a movie, then go to the aquarium then—"

Ichigo covered Rukia's mouth as he saw Orihime approach the shop. She stood there checking out the shops' display of pastries.

"How can that guy make a girl meet up with him and have her arrive early?" commented Rukia. Ichigo felt a smirk creep up to his face, which suddenly fell into a frown as they saw Grimmjow come out of the shop.

"So the bastard works there," said Renji. "They're going in, should we?"

"No! They might see us, let's wait till they leave."

The three followed Grimmjow and Orihime as soon as they got out of the café. Grimmjow had changed into his regular clothes. The "couple" got everyone's attention as they walked pass the people. Ichigo gritted his teeth in annoyance but continued to follow quietly.

"Hey be careful," said Grimmjow as he held onto Orihime's hand as they went down the stairs. Orihime faintly blushed at the sudden gesture. Renji and Rukia on the other hand tried to stop Ichigo from charging at them.

After the movie theater, which Ichigo was a little relieved at the moment for nothing serious had happened. Although what Ichigo was restless about was the fact that Orihime was starting to feel comfortable around the man.

"Grimmjow-san," said Orihime as they walked towards the aquarium plaza. "Why are you doing this?"

Grimmjow looked down at Orihime and stopped just by the fountain. "Does it bother you?"

"No, it's just…"

"If I told you I had feelings for you, would that shut you up?"

Orihime looked back into Grimmjow's intense gaze. The feeling was weird. It was the first time someone had confessed to her.

"I'm sorry Grimmjow-san…"

"It's 'cause you like that Kurosaki guy," finished Grimmjow. Orihime nodded meekly.

"So?"

Orihime studied Grimmjow's face as he said it.

"It doesn't matter. Feelings could change. I just have to make you fall in love with me," he said.

"That's…"

"That guy, I don't know what he feels about you but he doesn't really seem to care that I'm dating you," he continued.

Orihime's heart sank. She had never felt such depressing feelings before. Grimmjow was right; she didn't know how Ichigo felt about her.

"Let's go," said Grimmjow as he started walking. Orihime jogged after him. 'Maybe it's time that I learn about Kurosaki-kun's feelings.'

*.*.*.*

Ichigo couldn't take the pain that's been gnawing at his heart as he watched Orihime laugh and giggle. It was unexpected. After they watched them at the plaza near the fountain, they'd thought that maybe the date would be over as Orihime's expression was that of sadness. It took all of Ichigo's will power not to go over and punch the lights out of Grimmjow.

'What happened back there?' he thought.

Grimmjow and Orihime left the aquarium to get some ice cream and such a picturesque moment it was as Orihime wiped the side of Grimmjow's mouth. Grimmjow grabbed Orihime's hand and for a moment the three spies thought he was going to get mad but instead stared intensely at Orihime's eyes.

Orihime blushed slightly. "You know Grimmjow-san, you can actually be quite gentle. I thought you were the kind to hate on people." Orihime laughed to try and change the atmosphere but Grimmjow continued to stare at her and hold her hand.

She became quiet and looked back at the cool blue eyes. It was cold, unfeeling but somewhere deep inside she felt like there was slight warmth. She felt her breathe become heavy and her eyelids starting to close as Grimmjow's face was nearing hers.

"Ichigo!" called out Rukia as she saw the lean body of her friend move forward and threw his hat on the ground.

"That's enough for today," he said as he held on Grimmjow's shoulders. He pulled Orihime towards him and held her tightly. "I have an important business with Inoue. She'll see you tomorrow."

With that he pulled a confused Orihime away. Grimmjow merely watched as the two walk out on him.

"Well, that escalated quickly," said Grimmjow as he slouched on the bench. He placed his hand on his head and laughed.

"So what do we do now?" asked Renji trying to stop laughing.

Rukia was still laughing hysterically. "Phew, how 'bout we go on our own date."

"I thought you'd never say that," said Renji pulling Rukia close to him and kissing her forehead.

*.*.*.*

"Kurosaki-kun… KUROSAKI-KUN!" exclaimed Orihime panting as they came to a halt.

Ichigo had his back on Orihime, he was panting as well.

"What's wrong Kurosaki-kun? What were you doing at the plaza?"

Ichigo didn't answer. Orihime looked at his chiseled back. He was breathing heavily; they had run quite far after all.

"Inoue, I…" but before Ichigo could finish what he was going to say, they felt an evil sensation.

"It's a SIN!" exclaimed Orihime. She quickly ran to the direction of the feeling.

"Shit. Just my luck," muttered Ichigo as he followed after the auburn haired angel.

They stopped at an empty sakura tree park.

"There!" yelled Orihime as she saw a man crouched on the ground. Dark matter was rising from his body.

"Let's finish this then," said Ichigo as he went over to the man. As he did so, he heard the man mutter, "This is where we met... Why did you have to leave me?"

The man roared in anger as his hands turned into crab claws. He turned to Orihime who just placed the haze around them. "You! How dare you break my heart!"

It charged towards Orihime but Ichigo pulled her out of the way. The two landed a few feet away from the monster.

"Kurosaki-kun, I'll get Zangetsu," said Orihime as she held out her phone. Ichigo held his hand on Orihime.

"No, I'll handle this." Ichigo charged at the monster trying his best to subdue it. Orihime watched in horror as Ichigo got flung away. The small pillbox Urahara gave him dropped from his pocket.

"Use Zangestsu Kurosaki-kun!"

"Good, it seems when I don't use any power, you don't get hurt when I do," said Ichigo as he tried to stand up.

"You can use the pill Kurosaki-kun. Please."

Ichigo bit his lip. "No."

The monster swung its claw toward Ichigo. He flinched but nothing had hit him. Orihime had put up 'Santen Kesshun'. She ran towards the pillbox on the ground and took it.

"Is it because you don't want to kiss me?" asked Orihime as she held her hands to keep the shield up.

"No!" yelled Ichigo. "It's not because of that!"

"Then is it because of Kuchiki-san?" asked Orihime, she felt that she might cry any moment. She braced herself for Ichigo's reply.

"Rukia has nothing to do with this," said Ichigo. "Enough Inoue, I'll handle this!"

"I won't let you! I'm not going to allow myself to watch you get hurt!"

The monster continued to bang at Orihime's shield. Orihime went closer to Ichigo. "Inoue, I…"

"You're making me confused Kurosaki-kun, you got jealous when you met Uryuu-kun, and then went as far as ruining my date with Grimmjow-san."

"You don't understand, I'm just…"

"I know… you're only trying to protect me. But maybe what you're doing is only hurting me. Please Kurosaki-kun. I want to understand."

Ichigo slammed his foot on the ground. 'What am I doing?'

Orihime's shield was about to crack. Orihime called out Zangetsu and shoved it in Ichigo's arm. "If protecting is what you want to do, then do this just for that purpose."

Orihime popped in two pills in her mouth. "Inoue, what are you-"

Orihime planted a kiss on Ichigo and pushed the pill in his mouth with her tongue. Ichigo swallowed and the two glowed with a ray of orange light. Orihime's shield shattered showering the two in its shards.

~end of chapter~

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:**

I wanna try putting up a chapter every week. I planned that as the longest wait one can take… I almost missed this week but I hope your wait was not in vain. I think I'm messing up a bit on my storyline but I'll get back on track once Ichigo fixes his feelings. Recent Bleach chapters are getting more and more depressing and intense. I also hope that they'd shift back to Hueco Mundo so we know what's happening at Ichigo and Orihime's end. Anyway, expect more lovey-dovey scenes in the upcoming chapters before it gets serious again (and maybe I'll add some smut later on *evil grin). You'll be able to find out more about Grimmjow, my favorite character (Btw, DeathBerryLover1995, I'm not into GrimmNel but I like the idea; nypsy, hmmm, about Masaki and Isshin, maybe a few more chapters then we'll know) so I hope you'll keep reading till the end. Well, that's it for now. :D

**THANK YOU** to everyone who's been reading, reviewing, following and favoring this story.

R&R~


	14. Chapter 14: Day for Lovers

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach and its characters. They are the property and original creations of Tite Kubo.

**Chapter Fourteen: Day for Lovers**

Ichigo couldn't keep still. He compensated the lack of sleep by staying under the cold shower the next morning. The sensation of Orihime's lips lingered on his. He touched his bottom lip and remembered Orihime's tongue shoving the strawberry flavored pill in his mouth.

'Her lips are very soft,' he thought. He felt heat in his groin and stopped the thought from corrupting his mind further.

He then remembered Orihime's statements during that time. He couldn't comprehend it himself. What it was that was actually going through his head. "No, I just want her to be safe. To do that, I mustn't fall in love with her…" Ichigo banged his fist on the wall.

*.*.*.*

Christmas was around the corner and the intrepid hero couldn't keep still in his seat as he waited for the class to end. He took a short glance at the beauty that is Orihime. He couldn't help but sigh, somewhat relieved and worried that the girl was avoiding him since the kiss happened. He was also frustrated that Orihime was still keeping her end of the bargain with Grimmjow.

'It'll be fine, tomorrow's the last day anyway,' he thought cupping his chin. Noticing that he had been staring too long he shifted his gaze outside the window. For a moment he thought he saw a silhouette of a woman just by the side of a building. Ichigo shrugged off the feeling as soon as he heard the bell ring. He quickly got up and stride out the classroom.

Orihime tried to call out to him but he was too quick. She sighed and willed herself to get off the slump. 'Christmas is in two days, I have to get my gift ready… then maybe I can finally fix whatever's wrong between us,' Orihime thought as she gloomily looked down on her bag.

*.*.*.*

Ichigo wrapped his scarf tighter around his neck. He stared outside a jewelry store as he held onto his wallet. He remembered the last time he was in front of the sparkling store.

"_That one is very pretty don't you think, Kurosaki-kun?" said Orihime pointing over at the glass towards a white gold bracelet. It somewhat had a similar flower design to that of Orihime's hairpins._

"_Huh? I didn't know you were into this kind of stuff," replied Ichigo examining the jewelry._

"_Well, I only had an interest in it because of Rangiku-san. Whenever Rangiku-san's suitors would deliver her jewelry, she'd try them on which makes her look even more beautiful."_

"_That's kind of shallow don't you think?"_

"_No! I think jewelry is precious and giving it to someone would also mean that he/she is just as much as a treasure to that person."_

Ichigo puffed out a snicker. He thought of how simple minded and innocent Orihime was. He stared at the jewelry in front of him and thanked the heavens that it was still on stock. He checked his surrounding making sure no one he knows was in sight and quickly entered the store.

"How may I help you sir?" asked the young clerk. She gestured over the counter.

"Ah, yeah… Umm, I'd like to get, that one," replied Ichigo shyly as he pointed to the bracelet on the shelf.

"You're very lucky, that is a limited stock and the only one left in the store," said the clerk. "Is it a gift for someone special? A girlfriend perhaps?"

Ichigo blushed at the comment and tried not to brashly reply, "No, she's not…"

"Should I wrap this up for you sir?"

"Yeah, that'd be nice."

Ichigo watched as the clerk place the jewelry in a fist-sized box and wrap it in a white wrapping paper with pink floral design and finally finished with a red ribbon which she attached a paper rose on.

"Here you go sir."

"Thanks," said Ichigo as he took the gift which the clerk placed in a paper bag. "You're not wrong though," he added.

The clerk looked at him in confusion as he continued, "It is for someone special."

The clerk smiled at him and bid him farewell. As Ichigo left the store he got his wallet out and sighed. "Well, there goes my allowance and errand savings."

"It was still worth it right?" said a voice from behind.

Ichigo jumped in surprise and almost dropped the paper bag. "RUKIA! Wha-What are you doing here?!"

"Me? What about you?"

"Quit changing the subject, you midget!"

Rukia punched Ichigo square in the face. "Oh my, there was this huge fly on your face. I had to kill it."

Ichigo merely mumbled and grunted his annoyance at the petite woman. Rukia glanced at what he was holding and quickly understood what it was.

"Hey Ichigo, how bout we go get something to drink?" she asked pulling the confused Ichigo towards the nearest café.

"Extra yarn, check! Design Template, check! Marker, check! Gift wrap, check!" Orihime happily checked everything she had brought from the tailoring shop. "It looks like I got everything, I better hurry home."

Orihime had just enjoyed her last date with Grimmjow before going to the shop. Although she may seem to be comfortable with him, she had never let her guard down. She continued to comprehend the feeling he had given her the first time he had stared into her eyes. As she thought more about it she cannot come up with anything. "He doesn't seem to have any dark matter within him though he may look evil and malicious."

She then stops at a jewelry store and was somehow disappointed. "It's not here anymore. Someone must have bought it already," she said giving a sad sigh. She continued her walk in a faster pace but suddenly freezes as she sees Ichigo and Rukia settling at a café across the street.

She watched with sad eyes at how the two were so familiar with each other. She held her chest trying to stop jealousy rousing within her. She shook her head and slapped her cheeks. "No! This isn't the time to be thinking about such things."

She then pulls herself together and moves on but just as swiftly as she did she paused to see Renji resting on a metal bar in front of her.

"Yo!" he greeted raising a hand.

"Ho-how long have you been there Abarai-san?" she exclaimed embarrassed as he might've seen her in such a daze.

"Long enough to see you slap yourself," he smirked. "So what's new Inoue?"

"Umm, errr, nothing, I was just about to head home," she replied flustered.

"Aren't you going to wait for Ichigo?"

Orihime raised her head to look at Renji. He nodded over at the café. She took a glance one more time and saw Ichigo's happy face; well, in her point of view at least, since he still had the scowl on his face. She quickly turned back her head and said, "It'd be wrong to bother him. I'll just go on ahead."

"I used to be jealous of Ichigo you know," Renji began stopping Orihime once more.

"Eh?" was her mere reply.

Renji smiled at Orihime as she seemed eager to hear more of his story, so he continued,

"Rukia and I were childhood friends. Rukia is born from a high class family and I was poor back then. We met in a park when some of the boys were beating me up. She was quite a strong girl, a little prissy at first but she wasn't as bad as I thought a rich kid would be. Eventually I tried my best to catch up with her. I got into the same private elementary school as her during fifth grade because of a scholarship. Then due to some family matters, I couldn't get into the private school she was going to enroll in middle school. When I thought we would part ways, she had entered the same middle school as mine. That's when we met Ichigo. He was a sad kid when we first met him; it was disgusting to look at trust me. He'd be all gloomy and lonesome, except once in a while Tatsuki would come by class and talk to him, even give him a beating, which by the way was one of the best entertainments during middle school."

Orihime simply nodded as Renji went on,

"Eventually Rukia and I couldn't take it anymore, we befriended that bothersome guy. Rukia was the one closest to him, always by his side, giving him advice, listening to him. The reason he had been like that was because of his mother's death. So when he and Rukia became close friends I was happy for Ichigo; he started to become more sociable. We'd have fist fights for laughs and go out every weekend. It was then that I noticed he had feelings for Rukia. I was jealous because Rukia gave more attention to him, when clearly we had been together longer. But I didn't want my friendship to end with her or Ichigo. I was always stuck, I didn't know whether to confess or not."

Renji took a glance at Orihime. Her face was brooding, he smiled and continued,

"Rukia had been his light. I didn't want to take that away from him either. But sometimes, there are things that you have to do. There are things that you'd regret more not doing than things you regret doing. 'If I chose to hold back, would I have given away a chance to be with her?' I thought. Too much thinking didn't get me anywhere. I was pushed into a corner and then confessed to her. And you know what she said?"

"What did she say?" asked Orihime eyes glinting in excitement.

"Took you long enough you stupid baboon."

Ichigo took a sip from his strawberry midnight frappe. He was waiting for Rukia to finish her cake.

"Well?" he asked impatiently.

"Ah, right, as I was saying," Rukia began, "When do you plan on confessing to Inoue?"

Ichigo almost choked on his drink. "You invited me here just to ask me that?"

Rukia merely looked at him with a bored expression.

"I… don't have to confess anything," he said avoiding her gaze.

Rukia slapped him in the face which made the customers turn to their direction.

"What was that for?!" he yelled holding onto his red cheek.

"That was for being stupid and lying."

Ichigo scowled at the nosy customers and stared at his half full glass. "It doesn't matter."

"What?"

"I said, it doesn't matter," he repeated. "Even if I confess, what use would it be? She wouldn't like me back."

Rukia tried to hold in her laughter. "What makes, pff, you say, pff, that?"

'That's cause she's an angel, and the reason why she's beside me is because she's only doing her duties, she doesn't especially have that kind of feeling for me… not like I could say that out loud,' thought Ichigo.

"Ichigo," said Rukia her eyes show more seriousness. "If you wait out on an opportunity, how would you know if it held the happy ending that you wanted? If you fail, does it matter? From that you could move on. But haven't you thought about, 'what if she does have the same feeling?' If you let that go, then you just lose the greatest deal you could ever have."

Ichigo clenched his fist. "SO… If I had confessed to you before, would I have the same chance?"

Rukia was speechless. Ichigo felt very irritated that he had no idea that he just confessed in front of his close friend.

"I knew about your feelings then. Your chance is not with me; that was given to Renji. He was the one in your position right now. Right now, who weighs more in your heart, me or Inoue?"

Ichigo stared back into Rukia's deep purple eyes. He knew he cannot escape her perceptiveness. "Inoue," he whispered.

Rukia smiled. "Sometimes you'll realize that the reason why you didn't get the chance is because something else will be laid in front of you. Back then it could've been but like I said, when you take an opportunity it's either a pass or fail."

"If I had taken it then, what would've been your verdict?"

"Fail."

Ichigo smirked and looked at Rukia gently. "Thanks… I needed to hear that."

"Heh, it's all for the sake of this future right?"

The two were silent for a moment. Ichigo had finished his drink. "Hey Rukia… If I took this opportunity, and get a pass, what happens then?"

"You just move forward and not let anything get in the way," she replied.

~end of chapter~

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:**

I'm sorry if Ichigo was an idiot the past few chapters, but I hope you like him now. Anyway, I got this one out early this week, hooray for the achievement! I might put up a one shot about Renji and Rukia's story, but that's for later. I love Ichihime, and I also adore Ichigo and Rukia's relationship. It's a bond that is very unique. Sometimes I wonder why some Ichihime fans hate Rukia. She's awesome and one of Ichigo's strength, the same goes for Ichiruki's who hate on Hime. Just because one character is a threat to the other's ship doesn't mean we have to entirely hate that character. Oh well, we can't all compromise and I'm blabbering here so… I hoped you like this one. :D

Thank you to everyone who's been reading, reviewing, following and favoring this story.

R&R~


	15. Chapter 15: Winter Gold

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach and its characters. They are the property and original creations of Tite Kubo.

**Chapter Fifteen: Winter Gold**

"Rangiku-san, thank you for helping me get ready for Christmas," said Orihime. She was happy that Ichigo had invited her out on Christmas Eve.

"I wonder how exactly that boy asked you out?" asked Matsumoto.

"Well…" Orihime mused.

"_I-I—Inoue!" stuttered Ichigo as he called out the auburn haired girl from across the hallway._

"_Ah, ye-yes Kurosaki-kun?" she replied in the same stuttered tone._

_The two stood a feet apart both fidgeting and flustered._

"_I was wondering, since this is probably your first Christmas away from HEAVEN, maybe you'd like to go around and well, you know, enjoy the activities this city has to offer or something…"_

_Orihime looked at the flustered Ichigo. He was looking at his side with his hand scratching the back of his head. Orihime giggled and said, "Of course, I'd love that."_

Matsumoto laughed hysterically as Orihime finished telling her the story. "That was really lame!"

"Don't be like that Rangiku-san," Orihime defended. She smiled as she worked on stitching her gift. Matsumoto grabbed the material from Orihime's hand and examined it.

"So you're giving him a scarf? That's nice."

Orihime felt teary eyed, "But that's supposed to be a sweater."

Matsumoto returned the "sweater" and apologized to Orihime. "I'd love to help you with that but unfortunately; I don't have that kind of skill."

Orihime desperately worked on her gift. Deep inside, she was happy. 'This is what it feels like to be human. To have someone precious in your life,' she thought.

*.*.*.*

"It's done!" Orihime exclaimed as she held out the now successfully made sweater. Matsumoto rubbed her eyes as she awoke to Orihime's voice and the light of the sun peeking into her window.

"Wow, well, that turned out nice! Your determination and perseverance made it perfect!" praised Matsumoto. "Well, I've overstayed my welcome. Hitsugaya-taichou will get mad at me."

Matsumoto flipped her phone open and set a portal on Orihime's wall. "Good luck Orihime-chan. Bye-bye~"

Orihime hugged her finished work and prepared to wrap it. She looked at the calendar on her wall which had a red circle on Dec. 24th. 'Today's the day, I'm glad I finished in time,' she thought.

In the other room, Ichigo shifted on his bed. He felt something heavy on top of him and wondered if he was dreaming. He lazily opened one eye and just as he did they popped open in surprise. He found a mischievously smiling Matsumoto on top of him.

"What the fu—mmmmp!" he exclaimed but Matsumoto clamped his mouth shut.

"Shh… Orihime might hear you," she said.

"What are you doing in here Matsumoto-san?!" he whispered a yell.

"Oh, I just wanted to have a short chat."

"Then, get off me!"

Matsumoto set herself on the side of Ichigo's bed but not before accidentally hitting Ichigo in the face with her bosom.

"Oops, sorry..."

Ichigo blushed slightly and coughed, "What exactly do you want to talk about?"

"Congratulations on asking Orihime-chan out!" beamed Matsumoto.

Ichigo felt his cheeks burn red. "Uh..yeah—"

"But that aside, I have to ask you," continued Matsumoto in a more serious tone. "Do you really want to defy Urahara-sachou's orders?"

Ichigo was taken aback for a moment. Matsumoto continued, "Do you know the story of the cow Herder and the Sky Weaver Goddess?"

Ichigo suddenly flashed back to the time he met the old man. "Yes, I've heard of it."

"Then you know how that story went," said Matsumoto. "You may think it's a happy ending, but it's a tragic love. Falling in love with an angel, it's too risky."

"So?" blurted Ichigo.

Matsumoto smiled. "I didn't expect that from you." She looked at the determination Ichigo had in his eyes.

"It's not like I haven't thought about it. But I made my resolve…" he said.

"A man with a resolve huh?" said Matsumoto. "This won't end well."

Ichigo stared back in her eyes and said, "I'll crush everything that will get in our way."

Matsumoto laughed quietly, "I'm on your side, so you better confess to her properly." With that, Matsumoto opened a portal and headed out.

Ichigo stared back at the empty wall in front of him. The memories from when he met Orihime flashed in his mind. He held his chest and breathed deeply. "Today's the day, huh?"

*.*.*.*

"Thank you very much Kuchiki-san for letting me use your kitchen," Orihime said as she wrapped a frilly white apron around her.

"Ohoho, it's my pleasure Inoue. Let's make an exquisite cake together," replied Rukia enthusiastically.

"Um!" agreed Orihime. "What cake will you be making for Abarai-kun?"

"I call it Champagne Supernova, a vanilla frosted lemon chiffon cake with peach filling, and a dash of champagne."

"Hmm, that sounds yummy," said Orihime.

"What about you?" asked Rukia.

"Oh, I was planning on making a red bean paste and wasabi cake, but Tatsuki-chan said Kurosaki-kun wouldn't like it. So I'll just go for a Strawberry Midnight Cake."

"Well, she gave a good advice, ehehe. So what's in a Strawberry Midnight Cake?" Rukia continued. 'I hope there isn't wasabi in it.'

"Oh, it's like strawberry shortcake but the frosting is chocolate with a mix of caramel," said Orihime showing Rukia a food magazine.

The two went on to make their cake. As Orihime mixed she saw Byakuya pass by the hall across the kitchen.

"How is your brother, Kuchiki-san?"

Rukia glanced at her brother then at Orihime. "He's fine now; he hasn't been stressed out lately."

The two became silent and continued with their work. Rukia suddenly spoke, "I'm cheering for you."

"Eh?" replied Orihime.

Rukia looked up at her busty friend, "There must be repercussions to your relationship."

Orihime was slightly surprised but realized that the girl before her is fully aware that she is an angel. "In the end, Kurosaki-kun chose not to remove your memories."

"It's not that he chose it, he just failed, because his heart wasn't on the task of removing my memories, it was on you. I haven't really extended my thanks back then," Rukia said. "Thank you, Inoue."

Orihime was flustered at Rukia's sudden gesture. "You're my friend Kuchiki-san. I'd protect you even if it wasn't my duty to."

"Yeah, that's right. So if ever that bastard Ichigo hurts you, you'll bet I'll kick his ass."

The two laughed and continued on their task. Rukia would watch Orihime every now and then, thinking, 'An angel falling in love with a mere human, maybe they aren't so different from us. What are the odds?'

*.*.*.*

"Cash, check; Phone, check; gift and cake, check," said Orihime as she finished fixing up her things.

"You look very beautiful Inoue," commented Rukia. She had helped the angel fix up. She was told that it was her first time actually celebrating Christmas.

Orihime looked at herself in the mirror. The side of her long hair was braided and both her hairpins were clipped to one side. She had a pastel pink and white ribbon ornamenting her hair. She wore a beige coat buttoned on the side. The pastel pink turtle neck sweater peaked from under the coat. Truly it was amazing the preparations done to make her look wonderful.

"Thank you so much Kuchiki-san," she said bowing her head in much appreciation.

"I'd really like to see Ichigo's reaction when he sees you. That's enough for me."

The two headed out for their dates and separated at the train station. Rukia had arranged dinner with her brother and Renji at a high class restaurant. Orihime bid farewell and held her gift for Ichigo tightly. She couldn't help her heart from skipping a beat.

"I don't know whether to be excited or scared. This is it, I'm going to confess to Kurosaki-kun," she whispered to herself.

As she got out of the train, she felt a presence following her. She quickened her pace and tried to ignore it. 'There are a lot of people in this place, I'm just probably imagining things,' she thought as she turned to go out of the station. But as she did the people surrounding her were walking as if in slow motion. Across from her stood a hooded figure, a smirk on his face he uttered, "Well, well."

"She's late," said Ichigo checking the clock in the square in the central market. "It's been 30 minutes, I hope nothing happened."

He watched as couples meet up and leave the square. It really was a busy evening and a lot of people gathered for their date night. 'An evening for lovers…' thought Ichigo. 'I have to confess properly.'

Ichigo sat on a bench near the fountain; he checked left and right, expecting to see the clumsy angel. "It's been over 45 minutes, maybe I should just call Rukia and ask her, they might've been delayed or something," he said getting his phone out. As he waited for someone to answer he thought, 'Inoue has a phone but seriously, what's its use if I can't contact it.'

Rukia's voice suddenly popped on the other line, "Oi! What are you calling for? Seriously, I don't have time to give you any advice in confessing."

"Shut it! That's not why I called, has Inoue left yet? Is she still with you?"

"Huh?" replied Rukia bewildered. "We left the house two hours ago; she should've been there at least 15 minutes earlier than the time you agreed on."

Ichigo fell silent and felt blood rush through his head.

"Ichigo… Is something wrong? Where is Inoue?"

Ichigo felt the dread in every fiber of his body. He wanted to be optimistic and think that Orihime simply got distracted by the Christmas activities on stores she would pass by, but she is not someone ordinary, supernatural forces are acting around her and enemies aren't impossible to have something to do with it.

"Ichigo! Ichigo!" called out Rukia from the other line. Keeping his bearings he swallowed and said, "Don't worry, I just found her."

Ichigo quickly put the phone down. Lying was the least of his problems right now. He clutched onto a small package he had in his pocket. 'Inoue!'

Urahara slammed his fist on his desk. Yoruichi stood across the table and tried to pacify the upset CEO.

"Had I only known from the start, then I wouldn't have let them meet."

"No one knew," said Yoruichi.

"Aizen knew."

The two looked at each other trying to figure out what to do next. "Is that why he implanted the dark matter on her brother?"

"Sora Inoue isn't her real brother, he adopted Orihime. Orihime is the daughter of…" Urahara punched his desk once more, not bothering to finish his sentence.

"In any case, destiny has started playing; we cannot simply break the thread their fate has made. I've always kept an eye on Kurosaki. I thought that maybe by letting her come into his life he wouldn't be kept in the dark."

"That person knew Ichigo's fate from the very beginning," added Yoruichi.

"That's because she had him pay the price… My mistake was Orihime," said Urahara.

"You should be honest then," interrupted a voice from behind Yoruichi. The two turned to look at who spoke.

"You said my son shouldn't be kept in the dark. I would gladly tell him, but it has to come from someone who knew everything, from the very beginning," said Isshin.

*.*.*.*

Ichigo had come back to the central market. Panting he whipped his head here and there to see if Orihime had come to their meeting place.

"Where is she?! Inoue!" he yelled.

Everyone stared at Ichigo. His breathe formed a fog around his face. He felt sweat drip despite the cool night air.

"Inoue!" he kept yelling.

"Oi! If you keep shouting, you're going to drive our customers away."

"Grimmjow!" exclaimed Ichigo, he had been standing in front of Café Hana. Grimmjow was somehow taken aback by Ichigo's exhausted look.

"What? Did that girl finally get some sense knocked into her?" mocked Grimmjow.

Ichigo glared back at Grimmjow but was too tired to argue. "Get off my case." He turned his back and started walking.

"Where is she?" called back Grimmjow.

"I want to know that too," replied Ichigo without turning his head back. Grimmjow threw his apron on the side and ran after Ichigo.

"Hey!" called out his co-worker.

"Piss off! I've worked enough hours, I'm going on a break!" yelled back Grimmjow.

"I don't need your help," said Ichigo.

"I'm not helping. In fact, when I find her, I'm taking her away from you."

Ichigo scowled at the smirking young man running beside him. They had ventured further into the city and to the train station where Orihime would have gotten off.

Ichigo searched for traces of Inoue being there, to his luck, he found two paper bags, and one had a crushed cake and the other a neatly sewn sweater. "This is…" he uttered. He checked the tag and on it was, "To: Kurosaki-kun, Merry Christmas, From: Orihime Inoue."

Ichigo slammed his fist on the wall. "Inoue…" he muttered.

"Any luck?" Grimmjow asked coming up to Ichigo. He shook his head and continued to walk when he suddenly slips.

"OW! What the fuck?! Why is there Ice on the floor?!" exclaimed Ichigo. Grimmjow squatted beside him and touched the frozen floor.

For a moment he didn't speak then suddenly got up. "Let's go. I know where she is."

"What?!" mumbled Ichigo but Grimmjow started to move. "Hey wait for me! Asshole…"

Ichigo and Grimmjow stopped in front of a huge office building. Grimmjow stared at the top floor of the building and said, "This is it. She's at the top floor."

"How do you know?" asked Ichigo starting to become cautious of Grimmjow. Grimmjow pointed at the top and Ichigo turned to look at it. At first he didn't see anything unusual or any hints about it being Orihime's whereabouts. But as he focused he saw fog and Ice stalactites all over the top floor. Without second thoughts Ichigo made his way into the building.

The two stopped at the frozen entrance of the top floor. 'It's surrounded by a haze spell, I thought angels were the only ones that could do that?' thought Ichigo.

"That's it! I'm breaking this thing… RAAAAAAAH!" he cried out ramming his body onto the frozen door.

"I can feel it, such power… I'm suddenly burning to fight," said Grimmjow with an evil grin. He turned to Ichigo and mockingly looked at him. "You're weak."

Ichigo had had enough that he charged towards Grimmjow making them slide towards the end of the hall and slamming on the icy wall.

"Who the FUCK are you?!" he yelled clenching onto Grimmjow's collar.

Grimmjow grabbed Ichigo's wrist and held it tightly until he was forced to loosen his grip. "If you want to save her, then you should just step aside."

He pushed Ichigo out of the way and brought out his cellphone. He dialed a number and waited for someone to answer.

"Get here quick, I'll email you the address." With that he put down the call and texted. Ichigo watched in confusion at what was happening before him.

Grimmjow placed his phone in his pocket and stared back at Ichigo. "You're an amateur. How can you protect her like this?"

"Who… what are you?" asked Ichigo sternly.

"Does it matter? I don't need to explain, just wait and you'll see."

Suddenly light glimmered atop Ichigo. He looked above him only to see red panties suddenly covering his face.

"Took you a while to get here," said Grimmjow.

Ichigo tried to free himself from the crushing bottom of the person who had fell atop him. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't see you there."

Ichigo's nose comically bled as he breathed for air. "What the hell?!" he exclaimed turning to face the person who had just arrived.

A girl with short blood red hair and stormy gray eyes stared back at him. Her white skin glistened with the ice.

"Who—"

"The name's Lavinia Noctum. I'm Grimmjow's angel."

~end of chapter~

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:**

This is a belated birthday update for our most loved heroine, Orihime! Lavinia is actually my character in dragon age 2. I hope you'll like her. She and Grimmjow are going to play an important role in the future.

Actually, I want to tell everyone that I'm going on hiatus for 1 week. I've been sick lately and I might be in the hospital for a week, starting tomorrow. So I will not update next week, please bear with me.

Thank you so much to everyone who's been reading, reviewing, following and favoring this story.

R&R~


	16. Chapter 16: Strength

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach and its characters. They are the property and original creations of Tite Kubo.

**Chapter Sixteen: Strength**

"The name's Lavinia Noctum. I'm Grimmjow's angel. Or you could just call me Lavi."

Ichigo tried to find the words to say but all he could do was gape at the two. It was a sudden revelation that he didn't expect. Grimmjow was a Kami, he thought he'd be more of someone that'll be Reaper, but he was a Kami just like him.

"You're the woman I saw watching my window the other day at school," Ichigo finally managed to say.

Grimmjow looked at Lavinia suspiciously. "You were spying?"

"Well, you made me curious talking about an idiotic Kami," argued Lavinia. Grimmjow bopped her head, "That's for disobeying me."

'Idiotic Kami?!' thought Ichigo but brushed it aside. "I want to know more, but let's not stall. I have to save Inoue!"

"Oh, you're a very kind Kami, unlike some perverted asshole I know," said Lavinia eyeing an annoyed Grimmjow. "Well, I'm at an advantage."

She held out her hands, on the right was a black fingerless glove with a red fire design and on the other was the same but with a blue lightning shape design. She raised her right hand and fire came out.

"Let's burn this building down, shall we?"

The door burst open and inside was a completely frozen room. Ice sparkled like crystal. At the center of the wide room was Orihime. She was half naked and unconscious. What was more unbearable for Ichigo to witness was that her hands were chained raised like a "Y" shape and her bottom half was frozen.

"Inoue!" yelled Ichigo running towards the angel.

But before he could reach her, icicles burst out from the floor in front of him.

"Took you long enough to find me," spoke a husky voice.

"Who are you?! Show yourself!" bellowed Ichigo. A figure from behind Orihime came into view. He wore a hood over his head and a distinctive smirk on his face.

"I'm pretty lucky," the man said. "I have a princess, a gifted Kami and my favorite persons in the world, Grimmjow and Lavi."

Ichigo turned his head towards Grimmjow and Lavi. "What's the meaning of this?"

"So you did your research huh?" said Grimmjow ignoring Ichigo's bouts. "Well then, taking her was a big mistake, I'm really gonna have to fucking kill you."

Lavi had two large daggers wrapped in a cloth on her back which she quickly handed to Grimmjow. Its blade was pure black with a tint of blue on the handle.

"Meet Pantera," said Grimmjow holding out his weapon. "Hey Ichigo, I'll deal with this bastard, save the woman."

Ichigo tried not to question his companion and rushed towards Orihime. But he was stopped as the man froze his feet.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk…" said the man ticking his finger. "The master will not be happy."

"Let her go! Fucking bastard!" yelled Ichigo. He tried to break free from the Ice but it slowly crept up his leg.

As the hooded man came closer to Ichigo he felt the air become cooler than it already is. He puffed out mist as he breathed heavily. Suddenly fire burst in front of the man.

"Just what do you think you're doing?" said Lavi smirking. She threw another fire ball and the man hissed jumping out of the way. The heat was enough to thaw the ice that Ichigo broke free but as he again tried to run towards Orihime the man was beside her a blade of ice touching her bare neck.

"Make another move you fucking bastards and I'll surely scar her. It doesn't matter if she's dead or alive as long as she can be experimented upon."

The man pushed the blade nearer to Orihime's throat. Orihime slowly awoke to feel blood dripping from her neck. She saw Ichigo a few feet away from her. She noticed Grimmjow and an unfamiliar woman was across from her ready to attack.

"Kuro—saki—kun."

"Inoue!"

"You're awake; it seems that the sleeping pill's effect wasn't hard enough. Well, isn't this great, you will witness a great end to your beloved Kami."

"Not if I deal with you first," said Grimmjow as he disappeared and reappeared behind the man. The hooded man luckily avoided getting stabbed and slid to the other side of the room. Grimmjow slashed his dagger and broke Orihime's chains. Quickly, Ichigo ran up to her to find a way to unfreeze her.

"I'll help you with that," said Lavi. She held out her right hand and melted the ice.

Ichigo held Orihime. She was very cold and pale; blood was still dripping from her neck. He took his coat off and wrapped it immediately around Orihime. "Kurosaki-kun," she uttered.

Ichigo hugged Orihime tightly. His head rested on her shoulders. Orihime felt his whole body trembling. She quickly hugged him back and said, "I'm sorry, we were supposed to have a wonderful Christmas celebration. And the gift…" Orihime felt tears role down her cheeks. "I couldn't give you the gift."

"No, I'm sorry, for not being here on time…" whispered Ichigo. He hugged her tighter. "I'll protect you."

He let go of Orihime, they stared at each other for a moment with much certainty. Ichigo got out the pill box and took two. He handed Orihime one and they put the pill in their mouth. Not far off they heard the bell signaling Christmas. Ichigo held Orihime's face, "Merry Christmas," he said as he kissed her passionately.

The frozen floor shattered as Grimmjow struck it. Blood spilt from his wounds and he staggered to get up. He looked back at the man whose hood was now down. The man had a large scar across his face; his white hair fell straight on his shoulders.

"I'll get rid of you first then that other Kami," said the man mockingly. "It's better if I kill the bigger threats, no?" He threw a knife at Grimmjow but before it could hit him Lavi shielded him getting her arm hurt in the process.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?!" yelled Grimmjow.

"I just protected your whiny ass," retorted Lavi. "I should at least get a thank you."

"Bitch! I hate people who fucking get in the way of my fight," argued Grimmjow

"Then hate me if you want. I rather you live on hating me than die doing so," she said in finality getting up to face the man. "Vesalius Silghein," she said. "It's nice to see you again, how's that scar I gave you?"

Vesalius looked infuriated and charged at the woman. Grimmjow tried to get up but couldn't as his feet were starting to freeze up.

"Do you think you have a chance of defeating me?" taunted Lavi as she dodged Vesalius' knives. She held out her hand and fire rushed towards him.

Vesalius held out his arm and a maelstrom of icy smoke wrapped around Lavi's fire extinguishing it.

"Wha—"

"Do you think I haven't prepared for this?" he said he froze Lavi's hands in black ice. "I asked the master to enhance my powers. I can freeze your fire."

"That's the most ridiculous thing I've heard," said Grimmjow interrupting the man. He swung his dagger at Vesalius and was able to cut him on his cheek and legs. The man countered as icicles burst from the ground and hitting Grimmjow. Vesalius teleported beside Lavi and grabbed the back of her neck raising her from the ground and tightening his grip.

"Uggh!" she cried in pain. She peeked at the wobbling Grimmjow. Blood stained the icy floor. "Grimmjow…"

Grimmjow looked up at the man who had his angel. "Lavi!"

"I promised to myself and now that promise will be fulfilled, I'll kill you!" shouted Vesalius tightening his grip on her neck.

Suddenly a burst like a shooting sound came from behind him and struck his shoulder. Lavi fell to the floor taking deep breathes.

"Mother Fucker!" yelled Vesalius as his severed arm fell to the floor. The impact of the bullet blew up his shoulder.

"That's still not enough for what you did to Inoue," said Ichigo. Vesalius turned to find Ichigo pointing his gun at him.

Grimmjow watched in astonishment at the strength of Ichigo's attack. 'When I started keeping an eye on him he wasn't this strong.' He was suddenly distracted as he felt warmth surround his whole body. He turned to the source of power and found Orihime kneeling beside him.

"You," he stuttered.

"This explains why I felt a strange power form you Grimmjow-san," said Orihime. "I didn't expect you to be a Kami."

Grimmjow watched in astonishment as his wounds started to close. With a sudden realization he turned to his angel, who was now beside him. "Lavi!"

"She's all right now," assured Orihime. The orange dome surrounding Grimmjow disappeared. He turned to look at the fighting Ichigo.

"I have to go, I also have to protect Kurosaki-kun," said Orihime getting up. Grimmjow held her back.

"If you go out there you'll just be a burden to him."

"It's unfair that he always has to protect me. I'm his angel and I will guard him with my life!" she declared running off to Ichigo's fight.

"It is our duty after all," whispered Lavi. "You tell me not to get in the way of your fight, but as much as I want to obey your orders, I just couldn't stand you getting hurt."

Grimmjow's expression softened a little as he looked at his angel.

"Hahahaha!" laughed Vesalius as he looked at Orihime's determined expression. "You are going to fight with him?"

She held onto Ichigo who had cuts all over. Despite the man losing his arm, he was still hard to defeat. "Princess, you are someone who should just stay and look on the sidelines. You're nothing but someone who'll get in the way." He then turned to Ichigo. "Tsk, tsk… you are weak to let this woman get in the way of your fight."

"Shut up fucking bastard!" yelled Ichigo. "I was weak when she was out of my reach. She's not a burden, I'm stronger when she is at my side, because when I have someone to protect more than anyone, I'll make sure that I will not lose!"

Ichigo brought out his gun and shot Vesalius multiple times.

'Tsk, his bullets have a stronger impact,' thought Vesalius. Distracted by the sudden smoke gathering around him he didn't notice Ichigo disappearing from where he stood.

"Die," said Ichigo from behind but before Vesalius could turn his head, it exploded. Flesh scattered to the floor. His body fell with a lifeless thud.

"Well, that ruined my appetite," commented Grimmjow.

*.*.*.*

The four stood outside the building. They looked up as if nothing had happened to it. "An angel's power is amazing," said Ichigo.

"Thanks," replied Lavi. "It's my specialty, after all, this bastard is quite reckless," she said pointing a thumb at Grimmjow who scowled back at her.

"Who are you?" asked Orihime, she now wore her previous clothes which they found in the room.

"I'm Lavinia Noctum; you could just call me Lavi."

"I haven't seen you in the agency before," said Orihime. Lavi looked at her with a mysterious flare in her eyes.

"It's because I'm not an agent of HEAVEN," she replied smiling. Ichigo turned to Grimmjow for answers but he avoided his gaze.

"I know you have a lot of questions for us, but, I rather you continue your date. It's not too late," said Lavi. "If you can, we'll meet you tomorrow."

"Shit, my break time took longer than expected. My boss is going to kill me," said Grimmjow. "Let's go Lavi."

The two headed off but not before Grimmjow calling back to Ichigo, "If you want to know, meet us tomorrow at the café. That girl knows my number, just text me." With that, the two called out for a taxi and left.

It was unexpectedly quite as Ichigo didn't have a comment or retort to the man who had helped him. "Kurosaki-kun?" uttered Orihime breaking the silence.

Ichigo turned to face Orihime. Without a word he grabbed her hand and pulled her away from the place.

"Eh?! Umm, Kurosaki-kun, where are we going?"

After a few minutes of running, the streets were suddenly filled with lights.

"This is the town court. I was going to take you here," said Ichigo stopping to turn to Orihime. She looked on in awe as a large Christmas tree stood in the middle of the square.

"Merry Christmas," said Ichigo, his face turned red.

Orihime looked back at him then suddenly felt sad. "My gift… I worked so hard on it."

"Gift?" repeated Ichigo. He remembered the bag he grabbed from the station earlier. "You mean this?" he said taking out a somewhat ruined package. "I couldn't save the cake though, it was crushed."

"Ah! That's it!" cried Orihime. Tears slowly stream down her face in joy. Ichigo unwrapped and held out the purple sweater. "It's very nice, Thank you, Inoue."

"Kurosaki-kun… I," said Orihime. Ichigo stopped her and took a package from his pocket and gave it to her. She took it and opened it to see the white gold bracelet.

"The one from the store," she stuttered.

"You said that jewelry is precious and that giving it to someone would mean that that person is as precious as the gift," said Ichigo.

Orihime placed a hand on her mouth. She trembled slightly. Her heart was beating faster and faster.

Ichigo swallowed and stared into Orihime's eyes. "You are a treasure to me. And if you'll allow me, I will protect you no matter what. I… lo…" he stammered.

On the far end of the plaza people gathered as the fireworks display began. The dark sky was showered with colorful lights, people cheered and sang; oohed and wowed as each boom filled the silence. In the midst of it all stood two lovers.

Ichigo and Orihime were entwined in a passionate kiss.

~end of chapter~

****

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

Sorry this took so long. Thank you for waiting for it. While I was at the hospital I had a sudden idea for an Ichihime one shot, hope you'll read it once I put it up. Anyway, hope you liked this one! And the kiss! RainingLight1, sorry things turned out like that but I hope this chapter made up for it.

I might make a comic for this, but maybe when i finish it and have the time. Grimmjow and Lavi's purpose and past, explained in the next Chapter! Hope you all keep reading. :D

Thank you so much to everyone who's been reading, reviewing, following and favoring this story.

R&R~


	17. Chapter 17: For Real

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach and its characters. They are the property and original creations of Tite Kubo.

**Chapter Seventeen: For Real**

Christmas. The roads were filled with snow the next morning as Ichigo checked from his window. The weather was still a good day for a stroll outside.

"GOOOOODMOOORNING I-CHI-GO!" greeted his father giving him the usual kick in the morning.

Ichigo held his father's kick and threw him on the side. "Good morning my ass, quit waking me up like that!"

Isshin raised an eyebrow at Ichigo. "You seem happy," he concluded. Ichigo blushed but hid it from his father. "Whatever old man, I'm going out today and meet up with some friends."

"That's so sad! You're going to leave your father all alone on Christmas day!"

"What about Yuzu and Karin?"

"They're out with their friends as well…" said Isshin dramatically. He ran down out of Ichigo's room yelling, "Masaki! Our children are growing up and abandoning their father!"

Ichigo merely heaved out a sigh and got up. He took a short glance at the pink door across his bed. He saw a glimpse of stormy gray eyes greet him from a small opening on the door.

"O—oha-yo Kurosaki-kun," said Orihime opening the door fully. She was already dressed and ready to go out.

Ichigo blushed at the sight of her. He started to remember the events of last night. "I'll go get ready, wait for me downstairs."

Orihime nodded, her face was also flushed. She was still in euphoria and couldn't help but break into a smile every time she thought about Ichigo. She went down the stairs and sat at the couch.

"I knew he was going out with you," said Isshin coming into the room. He lit a cigarette and sat beside Orihime.

"Why won't you tell Kurosaki-kun that you can see me?" asked Orihime. She had been meaning to ask him that ever since she found out about his ability. "What are you exactly Kurosaki-san?"

Isshin laughed at Orihime's comment and huffed in his cigar. "Let's just say, I'm immune."

"Eh?"

"Whatever spell you are using to conceal yourself from me, I'm immune to it."

"How is that possible?" asked Orihime.

"This family has a lot of secrets. You'll find out soon enough," said Isshin standing up and heading to his wife's portrait.

Orihime would examine the beautiful woman in the picture whenever she would get the chance to be alone in the house. She seemed familiar to her but could not recall any event meeting the woman. "Kurosaki-kun's mom…" she whispered.

"Masaki is someone very special," said Isshin touching the portrait. "She knew more than anyone, about Ichigo's destiny. I guess she knew you two would meet."

Orihime was confused by his words and continue to watch Isshin focus on the portrait. "Well then, you two have a great day. Don't come home too late," he said turning back to Orihime before leaving the room.

*.*.*.*

Ichigo and Orihime had been quiet throughout their walk towards Café Hana. Ichigo kept fidgeting taking short glances at Orihime who seemed to be busy thinking of something.

"Is it bothering you?" Ichigo finally spoke. "Grimmjow, I mean."

Orihime smiled a little. "I guess. It was unexpected."

The two reached Café Hana and saw Grimmjow addressing a few customers.

"Grimmjow-san may seem rough but he's very kind and hardworking, neh?" said Orihime watching Grimmjow carefully. Ichigo felt uncomfortable and retorted, "Well, he's not that great."

Orihime giggled, "Don't be jealous of him Kurosaki-kun."

Ichigo blushed and looked away, "Whatever, let's just go and talk to him."

"Oi! Grimmjow!" exclaimed Ichigo upon entering the café. Grimmjow felt a vein pop on his head and pulled Ichigo to the side.

"Just cause I'm working doesn't mean I can't break your neck. So noisy," said Grimmjow shoving Ichigo on a seat at the far corner of the shop. He gestured for Orihime to seat and continued, "I'll be back."

Grimmjow left and went behind the counter. Ichigo and Orihime stared at the room he disappeared to and waited.

"He's just going to clock out for now," said someone beside Ichigo making him jump in surprise.

"Ah, Lavi-san!" exclaimed Orihime.

"Where the hell did you come from?!" yelled Ichigo.

Lavi pointed a finger towards the roof making Ichigo remember his first encounter with her. "Do you usually come from the roof?"

"Well, I go through the door sometimes," she replied.

Grimmjow came back wearing regular clothes and sat across Ichigo. He looked over at Lavi and said, "Oh, you're here."

"You could be a little happier," said Lavi in an annoyed tone. "Well then, let's not delay things." She flicked her fingers and a pink barrier enveloped them.

"Eh? What is-" asked Orihime amazed. "You didn't use your cellphone."

"That's because I don't need it. Rather, I can't use it. By the way, this spell is simply a barrier to ward off stalkers," replied Lavi.

"You mean the agents who've been trying to track you down?" asked Ichigo with a serious look on his face. Lavi was slightly surprised and returned to her usual composure.

"How were you able to guess it?" she asked.

"That's because I've felt their presence ever since entering this café."

"Heh~ Looks like your powers are growing stronger," complimented Grimmjow in a somewhat sarcastic tone. "They've put this place under surveillance huh?"

"What do you mean?" asked Orihime.

"How about I start from the beginning?" said Grimmjow relaxing his position.

"Then I'll start," added Lavi.

*.*.*.*

"I lost track of them," said Matsumoto as she held her head. She was seated atop a building's water tank.

"The origin has greater powers than we imagined," said Hitsugaya holding onto his binoculars. "Try tracking her again."

"It's no use, as long as she's with her, their whereabouts are masked," said a voice from behind them.

"Urahara-sachou," exclaimed Matsumoto.

"She got ahead of us," said Urahara in an angry tone. "Although, I doubt she knows of Inoue Orihime's true nature. If she does… Then we certainly have to prepare for the worst."

"What do you mean?" asked Hitsugaya.

"It means… we'll have to face the wrath of a great being."

*.*.*.*

"The origin?!" repeated Ichigo and Orihime. They stared at each other then back to Lavi.

"Yes, I'm the source of the robes' powers. Well, one of the sources at least," replied Lavi with a slightly sad look in her eyes. "My sisters have died because of…" she choked and her expression was even angrier.

"Lavi-san…" uttered Orihime.

"Ah, yes, where was I?" she continued, "I'm not sure if you believe, but I'm an actual angel of Heaven. Not the agency, but the realm itself."

Ichigo and Orihime listened intently without response.

"The day Urahara Kisuke's wife died was the day I met him. I was foolish then. I had fell in love with his human mind, his ideals, I allowed myself to be used as his tool to be able to find a way to reach his dream. I do not blame him though; it wasn't his fault after all."

"Was it Aizen?" asked Ichigo.

Lavi bowed her head and clenched her fists. "Yes, I was too trusting of him. He seemed sincere, so I foolishly showed him the place where the angels bathed. My eldest sister was of course infuriated. But Aizen pacified her, the two fell in love. Or so I thought."

"Aizen merely used my sister," Lavi continued banging her fists on the table. "He used her to completely extract pure light, pure goodness, which you seem to call white matter, and completely reverse it and come up with pure evil, dark matter."

"Were you the one who killed Aizen?" asked Ichigo.

Lavi looked at him and then felt her eyes well up but focused back at Ichigo. "My sister destroyed Aizen, sacrificing herself in the process."

The corner felt quiet for a moment. Orihime tried to understand the information Lavi was telling them; bit by bit she was trying to connect them.

"Unfortunately, Aizen had already managed to create chaos. He had spread the dark matter. In order for me to compensate for what I have done, I gave myself to Urahara, to create artificial angels that would subdue the SINS. That is God's punishment."

"Then why are you here now? Why aren't you back at the agency?" asked Orihime.

"I escaped," Lavi answered. "I had felt something in my sleep that made me want to leave that place. I have done my share for that company anyway."

"What do you mean?" asked Orihime.

Lavi looked at Orihime for a while then at Ichigo. "It has been a hundred years since I met Urahara. I've done my part for him."

Ichigo and Orihime gasped. "Then that means Urahara's been alive for more than a hundred years now?!" exclaimed Ichigo.

"He's somewhat immortal. He has used a true angel's power after all," said Lavi.

"Then, Grimmjow, how?" asked Ichigo.

"He saved me," said Lavi.

"A pain in the ass if you ask me," Grimmjow finally spoke. "I found her on a couch in the trash heap."

"What?!" exclaimed Ichigo.

"Will you drop it?!" muttered Lavi pinching Grimmjow's arm. "I've been asleep for more than 50 years, waking up to an unfamiliar generation and with my powers dried up that time, it was like I'm a normal human being."

"When did you two meet?" added Orihime.

"It was two years ago," replied Grimmjow. "I was on my way home from school when I found her. Damn, she really looked awful back then."

Lavi gave a nasty punch on Grimmjow's head. "Anyway, I'm indebted to him. That's why I made a contract with him. The same as that in the agency, my powers are transferred over to him so that he can fulfill my duties."

"How does that work for you really?" asked Ichigo.

"Humans are very powerful creatures, if you haven't noticed. A slight transfer of power from celestial beings and it can be amplified to even a thousand times greater, depending on the human. Grimmjow here is actually very powerful; his spiritual and magical capabilities are outstanding."

"Is that why you found him?" stated Orihime. The three looked at her in confusion. "I mean, Grimmjow-san did find you, but he was only able to find you because you were looking for him."

"Inoue, what—" uttered Ichigo.

"The reason why you were there was because you were attracted to his power," said Orihime, her eyes sparkled with seriousness as if she were in a daze. Then she suddenly stopped and blinked a few times.

"Eh? What… How come," she said as she held onto her chest. 'Why is it that I know the exact same feeling?'

"Inoue," interrupted Ichigo.

"Eh? Umm, nothing, I was just contemplating on the possibility," said Orihime.

Lavi stared intently at Orihime, 'Is she starting to remember?' she thought. "I guess you're right Inoue-san. I might've been attracted to Grimmjow's capabilities. In any case, I'm glad to have met him."

Grimmjow coughed and sat up right, his hands in his pocket. "Now that that's out of the way, shall we move on to the real agenda?"

Suddenly Ichigo stood up and whipped his head to the side.

"Kurosaki-kun?" said Orihime.

Without warning the café's window shattered. "Watch out!" exclaimed Ichigo protecting Orihime.

"What now?! Just when we were at the good part!" yelled Grimmjow standing up. People in the café panicked and ran out of the shop.

A familiar feeling crept up in Ichigo's spine. "This feeling."

"Long time no see, Kurosaki Ichigo," said the man who entered through the shattered window.

"Szayel Aporro!" chorused Ichigo and Orihime.

~end of chapter~

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:**

I'm so sorry this took long to put up… *bows head in apology

Anyway, more revelations to come… And also more Ichihime moments! Thanks to the new readers for reviewing and favoring this story, hope you'll stick through the end.

Thank you so much to everyone who's been reading, reviewing, following and favoring this story.

R&R~


	18. Chapter 18: Tongues Like Knives

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach and its characters. They are the property and original creations of Tite Kubo.

**Chapter Eighteen: Tongues like Knives**

Ichigo grabbed his gun as Orihime summoned it and Grimmjow took his daggers from Lavi.

"You're friends with this guy?" asked Grimmjow.

"You could say we've had a special moment before," replied Ichigo. "It's strange though, Yoruichi-san's report said he was dead."

Szayel looked at Ichigo and shrugged his head, "Tsk,tsk,tsk…"

"Don't you know about decoys? Or puppets?" said Szayel. Ichigo glared at him fiercely.

"Don't get too serious now, today, you will especially live, if it had been a different day, you'd be dead," he said holding out his hand and summoning what seems to be an injection.

Grimmjow narrowed his eyes and glared at Szayel's hand. "Oi," he said turning to Ichigo. "You better get the hell out of here."

"What? So you could take all the glory?" Ichigo replied in annoyance.

"Yeah," replied Grimmjow mockingly. "It's cause you're so weak, you won't be able to defeat this guy."

With that, Grimmjow struck Szayel and pushed him out of the café. Ichigo ran after him but was stopped by Lavi.

"The big oaf is worried about you. So am I… Go, take Orihime and run."

Lavi pushed Ichigo towards Orihime who caught him. "What's with that?!" yelled Ichigo.

"We should just go Kurosaki-kun. I have a bad feeling about the thing Szayel has brought out."

Ichigo looked at Orihime's pleading eyes and gave in. He stood straight, took Orihime's hand and ran.

"I know you," said Szayel as he evaded Grimmjow's strikes. "You're not a very honest person."

"You're pretty chatty," said Grimmjow slashing his dagger at Szayel.

"Grimmjow!" yelled Lavi.

"What?! Quit messing up my fights," he yelled back. He and Szayel were on top of a roof of a building across the café.

"That woman is not an ordinary angel. Splendid, the information from Silghein-san is very reliable, unfortunately, you disposed of him too soon," said Szayel landing on a post.

"She is useless now though, what I want is that princess and her Kami. You know right, how special they are…" said Szayel with an evil grin.

"I don't see anything special about an orange-haired weakling and a clumsy big breasted chick."

"Really? Then why are you so intently protecting them?"

Szayel swung his hands and needles charged out of his sleeves towards Grimmjow. He evaded it as he went towards Szayel. He was unfortunately struck on his left thigh rendering his leg useless.

"It's a paralyzing poison. It freezes the muscles," explained Szayel as Grimmjow jumped away from him. He held his thigh and watched as it turned his leg a dark green color.

"I have an assorted list of poisons and I'd love to try them out on you, but you're not my target."

Szayel disappeared from Grimmjow's sight. "Wait! No!" yelled Grimmjow.

Szayel reappeared on top of another building a few meters from Grimmjow. He saw as Lavi interrupted the man's escape.

"You're not going anywhere," she said tightening her gloves. She took a boxing stance and charged at Szayel. Her hands were burning, one enveloped in fire, the other with cold steam.

"You're powers still haven't returned to its original state even after sharing it with a human. That's too bad," commented Szayel. Lavi's eyebrows met and she gave a swift punch followed by a round house kick which Szayel easily evaded.

"You're pretty well informed, for a mere underling," said Lavi.

"I'm a soldier!" yelled Szayel in annoyance. He swung his hand towards Lavi and a set of needles fired towards her. "I was created by my master to serve him at his side."

Lavi was able to evade the attack and guessed that Szayel got easily pissed off by her comment and continued, "You're nothing but someone who's being used to do all the dirty work."

Szayel was even more angered but quickly gave a menacing smile. "There's no other way to achieve a glorious goal." Szayel raised his hands and invisible strings pulled on Lavi.

"Wha- I can't move!"

"Lavi!" yelled Grimmjow from afar. He had been watching the two.

'I didn't notice him attach the strings…' thought Lavi. Then she quickly realized, 'The needles! He purposely didn't hit me.'

"Well then, I'll be using you instead to take what I need," said Szayel.

"Wait!" yelled Grimmjow. He mustered all his strength, took a knife from his belt and threw it at Szayel. It only cut him slightly on the cheeks.

"Huh? You're still alive?" said Szayel watching as Grimmjow struggled to get up. The poison has spread up to his cheeks, the left side of his body totally immovable.

"Such a bother," he said. With a flick of his hand Lavi jumped from her spot towards Grimmjow. She struggled to get out of Szayel's control.

"Let's get this over with, shall we?"

Lavi picked up Grimmjow's dagger that lay beside him. "Grimmjow," whispered Lavi as she shook from trying to stop herself.

"Heh," Grimmjow laughed. "I'm not gonna die that easily."

"You're shitty face makes me want to kill you more," said Szayel. Lavi raised her arms and was about to strike Grimmjow.

"BAM!" sounded a bullet fired towards Lavi. The dagger in her hands flung away and landed a few meters from her.

"I seriously dislike running away from a fight," said Ichigo panting. Orihime was beside him, she wore the same serious expression.

"IDIOT!" yelled Grimmjow. "You should've run away!"

"Then leave you to fucking die here?! I don't think so!" bellowed Ichigo. He shot Szayel multiple times.

"Koten Zanshun! I reject!" exclaimed Orihime. Her attack sliced through the bindings around Lavi. As she was free she quickly hugged Grimmjow.

"Idiot," said Grimmjow. "What do you think you're doing?!"

"Shut up! I just… I'm…" said Lavi trembling.

"Sheesh, troublesome angel."

"Santen Kisshun! I reject!" said Orihime, Ichigo left her beside the two as he jumped back to his fight.

The poison on Grimmjow's arm slowly disappeared. "You shouldn't have come back," said Lavi as she held Grimmjow.

"Kurosaki-kun doesn't like running away," said Orihime. "I'm not one to run away either when a comrade is left fighting," she said with a sincere smile.

"Stupid, Idiot, Moron," said Grimmjow in an annoyed tone. "Whatever, if he's in a pinch, I'm not going to save him."

Orihime giggled, "Grimmjow-san is actually very kind."

"HAH?!" chorused Grimmjow and Lavi.

"This guy?! Are you serious?" said Lavi pointing at Grimmjow and poking his cheek.

"Kurosaki-kun thinks so too, that's why he didn't want to just run away," said Orihime. "He has become stronger, and I believe he'll win."

Lavi watched Orihime carefully, 'But you're still afraid he might get hurt,' she thought as she watch Orihime's shoulders shaking.

"Why do you still call Ichigo by his last name?" asked Lavi.

Orihime blushed and stammered, "Well, I… umm…"

Lavi laughed a little as Orihime stuttered on what to say. She looked back up at the battle, 'Hurry up and defeat that guy, Ichigo.'

"You saved me the time to run after you," said Szayel.

"You're welcome then," replied Ichigo. He fired two bullets towards Szayel who of course effortlessly dodge it. Unexpectedly, Ichigo appeared behind him and gave him a kick which surprised him.

"Good, good, you're getting stronger," said Szayel. "I was afraid we had to take you away to personally train you, but fighting off my babies had paid off."

"What?"

"Oh, still left out in the dark? That CEO is good at keeping secrets, as always."

Ichigo cringed as Szayel said that. He only knew so little. The only thing keeping him in the agency was Orihime.

They continued to exchange blows. Ichigo was getting irritated as he looked into Szayel's eyes. He was merely being played at.

"Do you want to know what I'm doing here? Coming after you?" said Szayel.

Ichigo stopped in his tracks. 'No, I shouldn't get shaken up just because of that,' he thought to himself as he continued to strike at Szayel.

"Ten years ago, a child was cursed with an ailment as punishment from God," said Szayel. Ichigo missed having been shaken up by his statement.

"It wasn't to punish the child, but to punish his parents," he continued. "The child was going to die. His parents did everything they could to keep him alive, even injecting dark matter into him."

With that, Ichigo stopped and looked at Szayel's smirking face wide eyed. "What are you—"

Szayel smiled even wider. Ichigo's memories flashed in his mind. He saw his mother's crying face.

"A goddess took pity on the child. She gave the parents a cure, but for a price," he continued.

Suddenly Ichigo saw his mom, as he held her hands while they walked home from the grocery store. He was eight then. Coincidentally, ten years ago, when he was seven, he couldn't remember anything. His mother's bloodied face flashed in his mind and a terrible memory started to move back in his mind.

"In this world, an equal exchange must be made," said Szayel.

"SHUT UP!" yelled Ichigo as he held onto his head. "STOP IT!"

"The child should've died. But his destiny was changed. So another life had to take his place; a life for a life, a death for a death."

Ichigo dropped his gun and held his head. "SHUT UP…"

"A year after that, her life was taken away…" continued Szayel, he walked closer to Ichigo. He held out his hand and the same injection device appeared.

From afar Orihime was almost done healing Grimmjow. He heard Ichigo shout "Shut up!" she whipped her head and saw him kneel down and hold his head. Szayel was nearing him. A grim smile spread across his face.

It was as if the world was in slow motion. Orihime jumped up and ran towards Ichigo. She watched in horror as Szayel took out something from his hands. She reached out her hand to call out Koten Zanshun but she was too late. Szayel has pierced Ichigo through the heart.

She stared at the situation. Ichigo's eyes were blank and looked up at Szayel who spoke. Orihime couldn't hear anything but the rush of blood and the thumping of her heart.

And as if the world moved back to its original speed Orihime cried, "ICHIGO!"

"Mom! Hurry up!" called out a young Ichigo. He gestured for his mom to come out of the store.

Kurosaki Masaki smiled at her energetic son. He reached out his hands for her to hold and she took the small innocent hands of her child. A grocery bag on one hand and Ichigo's on the other, the two walked towards home.

Ichigo hummed as they walked by the riverside. "What song is that Ichigo?" asked Masaki.

"I learned at school in music class. It's a song for the Tanabata Festival," replied the young Ichigo with a grin.

"Oh, that's nice," replied Masaki.

"Ah, but the story of Tanabata is so sad," said Ichigo.

"Why do you think so?"

"It's because the lovers never get to see each other," he replied, tears welling up his face.

Masaki knelt before her child. "Ichigo, don't cry."

"But, when I think about it, it's sad when you don't get to see someone you love."

"It may be so, but, when you love someone deeply, it doesn't matter how far apart you are, as long as the feelings you have are the same, your hearts will always be connected. And did you know that during the Tanabata festival, Altair and Vega would still be able to meet each other?"

"Yes…" Ichigo replied.

"Then that is not a sad thing. Knowing their fate, they accepted it. It was enough that they were given a chance to meet, every year on this Festival. So let's celebrate it with great joy, ok?"

"UM!"

Ichigo continued to hum his song and walked by his mother's side. He looked up to his mom but didn't see her.

"Mom?" he said. "MOM!"

He looked left and right. The surroundings changed and he saw his mom lying on the ground in a pool of blood.

"MOM!" he bellowed.

Suddenly, everything went dark. The seventeen year old Ichigo stood before his younger self. He was crying endlessly, crying out for his mother.

*.*.*.*

Ichigo snapped back to reality. He looked in front of him and saw Szayel's triumphant face. He felt weak and numb. He tried moving his arms but it was as if his body was chained to the floor.

He moved his eyes towards his chest. He gasped as he saw the injection vial fill up with silvery white liquid coming from his chest. He watched on in horror as if he felt that what was being taken from him was important.

As he tried to scream, the vial disappeared from his chest and blood splattered from where Szayel was standing.

He looked up at Szayel whose left arm was severely cut. He was holding a half full vial of the silvery white liquid. Ichigo tried to move but instead fell flat on his stomach. He heard Szayel move and leapt away from him.

"Wait!" he said with a struggle.

"It doesn't matter if you stop me now, I'll come back for what's left of it anyway," said Szayel.

"If I kill you here and now, you won't be," said another voice which Ichigo assumed to be the assailant.

Ichigo turned his head and watched as Szayel disappeared followed by an attack which missed him.

"I knew this would happen," said the attacker.

Ichigo turned to look at the man, his eyes widened in shock.

~end of chapter~

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:**

Hmm, I'm torn between this chapter and chapter 16 being my favorite one to write. Anyway, a lot has been revealed about Ichigo. And who's the mysterious man that saved him? Ohoho~ lots to expect next chapter. I'm hoping to put in some fluff but the story is getting a little serious so it might take a while. Expect lots of drama between these two.

nypsy, thanks for pointing out my mistake. I really get confused with Apollo and Aporro… haha! Really, thank you! :D

Thank you so much to everyone who's been reading, reviewing, following and favoring this story.

R&R~


	19. Chapter 19: Ash Like Snow

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach and its characters. They are the property and original creations of Tite Kubo.

**Chapter Nineteen: Ash like Snow**

The young Ichigo stood by the river, his hands stained with blood. He looked down on a corpse by his feet. The long brown hair of his mother covered her face. She lay in a pool of blood, eyes lifeless as the surroundings. Ichigo knelt beside her, stifling a scream as he held his mother's cold hand. "Okasan… Okasan…" he whispered, tears falling on his cheeks.

The events before the death of his mother were all a blur. An older form of Ichigo appeared behind the child. He watched himself mourn. Ichigo tried to reach him but it felt like he was moving farther and farther away. Suddenly everything went black. Flashes of memories of how his mother died appeared before him. He saw a man with dark skin. Then a flash as if there was fighting, then the face of his mother appeared, blood stained and looking at him, reaching for his cheeks. Ichigo stepped back and held his head, he felt the rush of memories, ones from the death of his mother and then from ten years ago.

Ichigo knelt as he saw a glimpse of himself lying on a stretcher; he had an oxygen mask on and he looked at blurry forms in front of him. He heard them, his mother and father shouting his name. He felt all was lost when a flash of golden light showered him. A form of an angel with wings that could cover him came forth. It whispered but no words were heard. Suddenly the memories rush into him and he awoke.

"You're finally awake. I was afraid you wouldn't," said a kind voice beside him. He turned to find Lavi with sad yet relieved eyes looking at him. He looked around and found himself in his room.

Ichigo held his head, "What happened? Where's Inoue?"

Lavi bit her lip. Ichigo looked at her with menacing eyes, "Where's Inoue?!"

"She's gone."

Ichigo whipped his head and looked at the man who entered. Grimmjow entered followed by his father who was holding a tray of remedies.

"What do you mean?! What happened?! What…" Ichigo cried out in distraught.

"Try to remember, I know you can do it," said Grimmjow sitting down beside Lavi.

Ichigo clenched his fist and gritted his teeth. He realized his father was in the room which made him all the more troubled.

"Oyaji…" said Ichigo. "I…"

"Does it matter? Explanations are for people who do not accept and understand things," said Isshin. He laid the tray beside Ichigo and held his arm. "Drink this, you'll feel better."

Ichigo didn't look at his father. He wondered what he must've thought when Lavi and Grimmjow brought him after what happened.

"You missed the New Year's visit to the shrine. Your sisters are worried about you. Talk to them when you are done," said Isshin. He stood up and headed for the door but not before saying, "My advice is that you claim what is yours. Protect what's important and keep them by your side."

Ichigo looked at the now closed door. He wondered what his father knew but that was not his priority. He had been asleep for more than a week and Orihime is nowhere by his side.

"Have you calmed down now?" asked Grimmjow.

"I… What happened, Grimmjow?" asked Ichigo trying his best to calm his nerves.

"I'm not sure about your side but…" said Grimmjow looking angry. "When that Szayel attacked you, Lavi and I tried to rush in, but agents from HEAVEN stopped us."

"They said we're not the ones they need that time so they simply put us to sleep. When we came to, they were gone. You laid half dead where Szayel attacked you and Orihime, well… She was nowhere to be found," added Lavi.

"You should've seen something, try remembering," continued Lavi.

Ichigo thought hard, he looked at the medicine his father placed and took it. Suddenly his head became clear…

Flashback

Ichigo looked at the man who had shot Szayel.

"I knew this would happen," said the man.

"An agent of HEAVEN, I see? Well, I'm not taking any risks, this is enough for now," said Szayel. He quickly escaped but not before being attacked by the man. Szayel disappeared leaving only a trail of blood.

"Tsk, I'll track him down. But for now," he said turning to Ichigo.

"Ishida…" said Ichigo trying to get up.

"Ichi… Kurosaki-kun!" called out Orihime as she ran to aid him but Ishida blocked her.

"Uryuu-kun?"

"Stay back Inoue-san."

"I must aid Kurosaki-kun!" cried Orihime.

"I'm sorry, but I cannot let you do that," said Ishida. He turned to look at Orihime. "Your contract has been suspended. You're to come back to HEAVEN with me."

"What?" said Orihime.

"What do you mean?" stuttered Ichigo.

"It means you are not to see Inoue-san anymore. Let's go, Inoue-san."

"NO!" cried Orihime. "I…"

"I'm sorry, but if you struggle I may have to force you," said Ishida.

"Wait!" yelled Ichigo as he tried to get up but fell back, he suddenly coughed up blood.

"Kurosaki-kun!" exclaimed Orihime running to aid him but Ishida held her.

"No! Let me go Uryuu-kun… Santen—"

But before Orihime could finish chanting, Ishida had knocked her unconscious.

"INOUE!" yelled Ichigo. "Ishida you bastard! Let her go!"

"If my father is right, then this is a good time as any to take Inoue-san away from you. You are a danger to her and everyone else. Goodbye Kurosaki."

With that Ishida disappeared. Ichigo cried out in vain but immediately fell unconscious as he did.

END OF FLASHBACK

"Is there a way to get to HEAVEN?" asked Ichigo.

Lavi was surprised by this. "I'm not familiar with it, but why would you want to go there? Orihime might've been taken by Szayel."

"No, I remember everything now. Ishida is also an agent form HEAVEN, he took Inoue."

"The doctor?" asked Lavi bewildered.

"No, it's his son. Apparently he thinks I'm a threat to Inoue."

Grimmjow eyed him, his arms crossed. "A while ago you seemed to be having a bad dream," he said shifting his gaze.

Ichigo gasped and held his head. "I…" he searched the memories in his head but everything was blurry. "It's not very clear," he replied. 'Why do I feel like it was important, the dream I had,' he thought.

"Anyway, about going to HEAVEN," said Lavi interrupting Ichigo's thoughts. "I'm sorry I can't help, I've been asleep the whole time and when I awoke I escaped."

"You're useless, you know," said Grimmjow.

A vein popped on Lavi's temple and she grabbed a pillow and threw it at Grimmjow. Then the two started to argue.

"Enough!" yelled Ichigo. He felt hopeless and having the two beside him was the only thing keeping him sane. 'There's got to be a way…'

"Hey! How were you able to escape?" uttered Ichigo hoping he could find a way in just as Lavi found a way out.

Lavi was taken aback by Ichigo's sudden fire. Then she quickly realized, "Ah!"

"Ah, what?!" said Ichigo.

Suddenly Lavi lost her energy. She looked at Ichigo who was waiting for her answer. 'What do I do? Should I tell him?' she thought looking over at Grimmjow.

Grimmjow stayed silent and as if understanding her thoughts he raised an eyebrow as if to say, 'Don't look at me.'

"I… I'm sorry."

"Huh?" asked Ichigo.

"There was someone who helped me escape the agency."

"Then that means, that person might be able to help us get in right?" said Ichigo all fired up.

Lavi nodded.

"Then you can contact that person?"

Lavi nodded but she looked at Ichigo with a worrisome expression. "Ichigo, maybe there's a reason why they took Orihime. Isn't she much safer in HEAVEN?"

Ichigo was shocked to hear such a thing from Lavi, but she wasn't wrong. "I already made my resolve." He clenched his fists and wrinkled his covers. "Like I told Matsumoto, I'll crush everything that gets in our way, even if it is HEAVEN."

Grimmjow smirked and clapped his hands. "Well, well, I guess there's no use in hiding the truth from you since you seem like you're going to beat the crap out of everything in your path," he said turning to Lavi. "Will you do the honors?"

Lavi shrugged the last hint of doubt in her heart, "Ichigo," she spoke firmly. "The person who helped me escape HEAVEN was…"

"Me," said his father, his back rested casually on the wall by the open door.

~end of chapter~

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:**

Oh gawd! I'm so sorry for the late update! A lot happened, so umm, this chapter is quite short, but this update is a double update to make up for my 3 week absence. Anyway, Ishida is a jealous bitch so he took Orihime away… just kidding. What might be the reason? Any guesses?

Thank you so much to everyone who's been reading, reviewing, following and favoring this story.

R&R~


	20. Chapter 20: God Knows

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach and its characters. They are the property and original creations of Tite Kubo.

**Chapter Twenty: ** **God Knows**

Ichigo blasted the head off his 46th monster. He was able to finish up the job before an agent from HEAVEN could get to the scene. He ran off and met up with Grimmjow and Lavi near the fountain at the plaza.

"We got 2 more," said Lavi.

"Good, then there's 2 more left," said Ichigo.

"It's getting harder to find a SIN to slay. The agency seems to be getting suspicious," said Grimmjow scratching his head. The three started walking to a less crowded spot and huddled together.

Ichigo held a clam-shell phone in front of Lavi's and Grimmjow's weapon. Small dark purple particle gathered and went in the phone.

"Your dad sure is amazing. I didn't know he had something like this," said Grimmjow hiding his weapon.

Ichigo was quiet and closed his phone. "Oyaji…"

FLASHBACK

Ichigo stood behind his father in front of their house. He waited for his dad to speak.

Isshin took a packet of cigar from his pocket and popped one in his mouth and lit it.

"I thought you quit."

"The situation calls for one," replied Isshin. He looked at Ichigo whose gaze never wavered from him. "Stop looking at me like that, it's not like I was never going to tell you."

"You have your reasons right," said Ichigo. Isshin swallowed, Ichigo's expression somehow softened.

"I understand," he continued. "If there was an answer, I'd bet you'd tell me to go run off and find it out."

Ichigo looked at his father who was now facing the other way. "You'd tell me if you could. But you can't, can you?"

Isshin didn't reply. Ichigo sighed and loudly spoke, "Well, whatever. I knew you were crazy from the beginning."

"HAH!" exclaimed Isshin. He looked at Ichigo mockingly, "then you're my son after all, the crazy runs in the family."

The two wrestled until Ichigo's heart felt at ease.

"So," he said huffing. "How can I get to HEAVEN?"

"The same way the first time you went there," replied Isshin.

END OF FLASHBACK

"We've let five days pass since I woke up," said Ichigo kicking a nearby tree. "We should just intercept an agent and kill off a SIN."

"Then what, let them take away our only ticket to get there?" retorted Grimmjow.

"Aren't you worried Grimmjow? What if Ishida's son is already doing this and that to Orihime?!" exclaimed Lavi.

Ichigo blushed in irritation and brushed off the thought, "Stop it! If she's in HEAVEN, I doubt they're doing anything to harm her."

"Then why do you want to go to HEAVEN so badly?" asked Lavi.

"Don't you think I at least deserve an explanation? Everything happened so fast. I don't even have any idea why Szayel attacked us and what he took from me."

There was a long pause between the three then Lavi spoke, "I'm still worried. If they suspended the contract, why are you still able to use your powers?"

"Maybe it doesn't have anything to do with Ichigo," said Grimmjow, his eyes distant.

Ichigo's scowl grew darker. He observed Grimmjow then walked away, "Let's go, there's two more left."

*.*.*.*

"Urahara," said Yoruichi. The once brightly lit office was now dark. Urahara's chair was turned away from her and she could feel the gloom looming over her Kami.

"Don't you think it's time that you tell him? Only you are capable of doing that," said Yoruichi. "You swore to her."

Urahara clenched his fists. His back slouched and his face grim. "How is Orihime?" he asked.

"She's in her room. She's eating now, or at least she's trying," reported Yoruichi looking through her notes.

"Is it because we refuse the let her see Ichigo?"

"Yes."

Urahara sighed. "It's as I feared even more so, now that we know Orihime's true identity."

"What do you propose we should do?" asked Yoruichi.

"Have Mayuri remove her memories and the memories of the people she has affected."

*.*.*.*

Ichigo jolted and got up in cold sweat. He glanced at his bedside clock. It was already 7:00am. He switched off the clock and got up. He changed into his uniform and headed out. Even if he was fighting off monsters, he promised his dad he'd go to school.

As Ichigo walked towards school he didn't know what excuse he'd make when people start looking for Orihime. He was mostly worried about what Rukia and Tatsuki would say.

"Oi, good morning Ichigo," said Renji placing his bag on his table.

"Osu," replied Ichigo casually.

"Rukia not here yet?" he asked.

"Haven't seen her yet," said Ichigo.

"Good morning you two idiots!" exclaimed Rukia in a sing-song voice.

"Uggh, speak of the devil," said Renji. "Good morning."

"Oi, Ichigo, what happened to you? We never got to see you at the shrine during New Year," said Rukia.

"Bet he was on a date with some girl," teased Renji.

Ichigo raised his eyebrows. He felt his hands shake, something was not right.

"Pfft, Ichigo? With a girl? He better fix his attitude first before he even gets a chance," added Rukia.

Ichigo stood up quickly that his chair fell. "I was with Inoue!" he yelled, his voice was shaking.

"Huh?" replied the two.

"Inoue?" asked Rukia. "Who's that?"

"Are you making up someone, don't worry, your dad told us you weren't feeling well," laughed Renji. Ichigo felt his blood boil and pushed Renji to the wall. He held his collar and yelled, "Stop kidding around. Don't you remember her?!"

"What are you talking about Ichigo? Who?" asked Rukia.

"Inoue, Inoue Orihime!"

Rukia and Renji looked at each other with a confused expression. Ichigo backed away, he turned to the chair where Orihime used to sit.

"Here, she sits here."

"That seat's been empty since the first term. Ichigo, are you all right?" asked Rukia now worried. She came over to Ichigo and held his hand.

"Fuck it," he whispered and flung his hand away. He ran out the room almost hitting Grimmjow on his way out.

"What happened?" Grimmjow asked Renji.

"I'm not even sure, he kept making us remember someone," he replied fixing his collar.

"Who?" asked Grimmjow he somehow knew what they were going to say.

"Inoue Orihime," said Renji. "I swear I don't know anyone by that name."

The bell rang and Grimmjow ran out quickly before Renji could say anything.

"This again," said Grimmjow gritting his teeth.

*.*.*.*

Ichigo's hand bled as he punched the wall by the old school building. "She's been forgotten, even Tatsuki."

"_Eh? Inoue Orihime? Who are you talking about?" _

"RAAAH!" exclaimed Ichigo as he was about to hit the wall when Grimmjow held his hand.

"Beating up the wall won't make everyone remember her."

Ichigo freed his hand from Grimmjow's grip. His head was down and he felt the world's weight on his shoulders.

"We have to hurry," said Grimmjow. "I bet Lavi has already exterminated the remaining SINS to pass to HEAVEN."

Ichigo didn't answer. He fell to his knees, his hands clenched into a fist.

"Oi, Ichigo, stop fucking around, if you want to get her back, you got to pull yourself together!"

"I…!" yelled Ichigo. "She's fading," he said gripping the hairs on his head. "Inoue is…"

Grimmjow pulled Ichigo up and punched him square in the face.

"Fucking weak! You don't deserve her!"

Ichigo fell back to the ground. "Where's your 'I'm going to crush everything that'll get in our way' resolve?! HUH?!"

"Shut up," whispered Ichigo.

"Tsk, whatever, sit there and forget about her," said Grimmjow kicking the ground in front of Ichigo before leaving.

Ichigo spitted the blood that dripped from his lips. He looked up to the sky, he tried to remember Orihime's smile. "She's fading," he whispered. He remembered the moments he was with Orihime, he was there at the zoo, at the shop, at the park, and the one standing beside him, it was a blur.

*.*.*.*

Ichigo went in his room and lay on his bed. He kept trying to remember what he was fussing about. Rukia told him he was blabbering about someone but no matter how he tried to remember, he can't.

From outside his house Isshin and Grimmjow stood. They looked up at his window and Isshin sighed.

"He's completely forgotten about her," said Grimmjow.

"No, he's too powerful now to be affected by Kurotsuchi's ability. The memory is still there, hidden. He just needs to trigger it."

"Whatever, I'll be waiting by the fountain at the plaza until midnight," replied Grimmjow.

"Why so earnest?"

"Huh?"

"I mean, the way I see it, it would be better for both of them to go back to their own lives. Where they wouldn't feel the burden of their destiny," said Isshin.

"Destiny, huh?" said Grimmjow. "Apparently from what I've heard, you can't escape destiny. You of all people should know that."

Isshin laughed. "Only God knows…"

"Then let's leave it up to the him then," replied Grimmjow before disappearing from Isshin's sight.

Isshin looked back up Ichigo's window. "Hurry up."

*.*.*.*

Ichigo settled his things on the table and ruffled his hair after a good long bath. He opened the side drawer and a neatly folded purple sweater greeted him. "What's this?"

He felt as if lightning struck his chest. "What?" Ichigo quickly closed the drawer. "Whatever, it's probably from the old man."

He glanced over at his side and saw a pink glow on the wall. Ichigo blinked and rubbed his eyes then looked again and saw nothing. "Seriously, what's wrong with me?" he said scratching his head.

He picked up a pencil and started to do his homework. Ichigo felt as if it was a long time since he had sat in his desk chair and worried about nothing else but his homework. Although, he felt like something was wrong. His hand shook and accidentally pushed his pencil holder, falling to the floor and rolling across the room.

Ichigo got up but before he could pick up the holder he saw it, the glow of a pink door by his wall. Without second thoughts he opened the door and went in.

The room was tidy. It smelled like peaches and it was definitely a girl's room. Ichigo blushed but he didn't step back. "Why do I feel like I shouldn't be here, it's embarrassing," he said.

He looked over the things, there was a neatly hanged Karakura Academy girl's uniform by the closet. He loomed over the desk and saw a round angel plush toy.

Ichigo picked it up.

"_Kurosaki-kun! Look here!"_

_She pointed at a UFO catcher machine. "That's a very cute toy isn't it?" she said pointing at a round pink toy with angel wings designed on the back. It had a ":3" expression. _

"_It looks like you," teased Ichigo._

Ichigo suddenly let go of the toy. He held his head. "Who was that?"

"_Kurosaki-kun!" she called out with a smile._

Ichigo looked over the desk and saw a picture taken from a photo booth. It was blurry.

"_What is this? Kurosaki-kun?" she asked._

"_It's a photo booth. You can take a picture and decorate it."_

"_Let's take one!" she replied in delight._

Ichigo blinked and there he saw it, a girl with long auburn hair smiling beside him in the picture.

"_Kurosaki-kun!"_

"_Kurosaki-kun!"_

"_Kurosaki-kun!"_

Ichigo saw glimpses of her smiling, pouting, and worried. Then there, running towards her,

"_ICHIGO!"_

"ORIHIME!" yelled Ichigo. A teardrop fell down his cheek. He quickly wiped his eyes before anymore fell. He hastily ran off, grabbed his purple sweater and headed out only to be greeted by Isshin.

"Good job," he said. "And just in time too."

"Get out of my way oyaji!" yelled Ichigo.

"Yeah, yeah… Grimmjow's by the fountain at the plaza," said Isshin as he let Ichigo pass. "Be careful."

"Yeah," said Ichigo as he ran off.

*.*.*.*

"About time," said Grimmjow, his hands crossed over his chest. Ichigo panted as he arrived at the now empty plaza.

"Shut up, Orihime's waiting," said Ichigo.

Lavi giggled, "It really is about time you called her by her first name."

Ichigo blushed, "Whatever, Let's just do this."

~end of chapter~

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:**

I felt my heart cringed in pain writing this chapter. Ichigo forgetting Orihime is too painful. Anyway, next chapter might be out a little late again, I'll be going to Singapore for a short vacation so might not be able to update till the end of next week.

I'm apologizing in case you've encountered typos or wrong grammars and inconsistency. I was in a hurry to post this so I only looked through it once. Tell me if you see any problems I'll try to quickly fix it up.

Thank you so much to everyone who's been reading, reviewing, following and favoring this story.

R&R~


	21. Chapter 21: Fences

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach and its characters. They are the property and original creations of Tite Kubo.

**Chapter Twenty-One: Fences**

Orihime sat on her bed in her room on the dormitories of the agency. Her room was not like the one she had in Ichigo's. The walls were white and cold. The marble floor didn't offer anything warmer. There were no windows, just a small oval door and a twenty-one inch screen that could offer her something similar to a window. It wasn't usually like that. Or so Orihime had remembered. The walls would change color depending on what she wished for. The screen across her bed was a monitor for a computer she can use to access information about countries, people, government and many more. Now the room just felt cramp and cold.

"Ichigo…" she murmured. She looked at the food cart by the foot of her bed. Rangiku had checked up on her a few hours ago. She didn't want to worry the woman but Orihime had no appetite. The strawberries that lay on the tray only made her lose interest in even touching the food.

Orihime bit her lip and fought back the tears that stung her eyes. She would not cry, not because of this. She believes this was some kind of mistake and that it would pass. That she'd be with Ichigo again. But all of that hope came crumbling down not a few moments ago.

FLASHBACK

Yoruichi came in Orihime's room. She was elegant as always but her expression was hard and serious. "Orihime," she began.

"Yoruichi-san…" said Orihime, questions forming in her head. Ishida had not given her proper answers and Rangiku would always change the topic before she could start.

"Let me speak first," Yoruichi insisted. She took the chair that was settled by the desk in Orihime's room and sat across from her.

"You are relieved of your punishment and duties as Kurosaki Ichigo's angel," Yoruichi finally said. Although her voice was slightly shaking as she said it.

Orihime's eyes widened in shock her hands covered her mouth. A slight gasp escaped her fingers. "No… Yoruichi-san, please, explain this to me."

"It is Urahara's orders."

"NO!" cried Orihime standing up. She had held her anger long enough.

Yoruichi sighed and shifted in her seat. "This is for your own good, for the both of you."

"Why?" Orihime asked almost in a whisper. She felt her whole body trembling. The thought of never seeing Ichigo again made her shudder.

Yoruichi coughed and began, "Maybe you should know the truth. About Kurosaki Ichigo,"

"His mother, Kurosaki Masaki and father, Kurosaki Isshin, were valuable researchers of HEAVEN. They were part of the original group under Urahara when HEAVEN was just starting out. Eighteen years ago, a year before Ichigo was born, Masaki and Isshin worked on an independent project. Their research led them to the EMBRYO. An unborn angel, a real angel made by the Gods. It was hard to get one, because it meant crossing the boundaries between realms, the real HEAVEN."

Orihime kept her eyes fixed on Yoruichi. She gave her a confused and shocked expression.

"Of course, they couldn't get away with it. They were playing against Gods. Taking the EMBRYO away from the realm had its repercussions. The EMBRYO died. The goddess who made the EMBRYO was furious and set a curse on Isshin's and Masaki's first born."

Orihime sat, her legs felt like jelly. It was like listening to an old story. A story told before bedtime, like a fairytale but it didn't seem to have a happy ending.

"Unfortunately, that is all I can tell you."

"What—why?"

"The goddess set a barrier on our memories after that. We remember it clearly, but even if we try to speak the truth, you will hear it differently," replied Yoruichi.

She went closer and held Orihime's hands. "If you love Ichigo and you want him to be safe,"

"I have to pay a price…" whispered Orihime.

"Yes… I know you want to know more, but trust me Orihime. Ichigo is not safe, with us, having any connection with us will end his life," insisted Yoruichi.

Yoruichi got up and headed for the door. "The price to pay is your memories and his. I'll come back in an hour when you're ready."

END OF FLASHBACK

Orihime closed her eyes and breathed deeply. She let her memories swirl a bit longer in her head.

"Ichigo…"

She quickly stood up and picked an empty journal by her desk. She grabbed a pen and started writing.

*.*.*.*

"It's frustrating you know…" said Yoruichi as she sat across from Urahara. She crossed her legs and lay back on the chair.

"Tell me about it," replied Urahara going over through notes.

Yoruichi raised an eyebrow and slammed her palms on Urahara's table. "Why would you go this far?"

"It's for the best."

"What? Destroying their bond? And for what? Revenge? You know they have nothing to do with 'that'!" exclaimed Yoruichi.

"They have everything to do with that," replied Urahara rather calmly but his face was grim.

"Stop acting like an antagonist!" said Yoruichi gritting her teeth. She turned and headed back out.

"I'll go and prepare for Orihime's cleansing."

Urahara stared at the empty room. He swung his head to the side and caught a glimpse of an old photograph by the end table. He walked towards it and took the picture frame. His hand trembled as he did so.

Urahara stared at the picture. A bright younger him stared back. Beside his smiling figure was another young man, his glasses were a little askew as he held Urahara's shoulders.

"Aizen…" he whispered with an angry voice.

*.*.*.*

A dark room bubbled with different concoctions and Szayel Apporo's figure emerged from the shadows. He held a flask, cradling it like baby as he swept the mess from his work table.

"What took you so long?" hissed a voice in the darkness.

Szayel turned quickly and hissed back, "What are you doing here Nnoitra?!"

"Nothing," he replied. Nnoitra stepped into what little light there was in the room, his tall figure casting a shadow over Szayel. "Is that it?" he asked.

"Yes. But it's incomplete. An insolent agent from HEAVEN distracted me from being able to extract all of it."

"Pfft, I bet you were just a fucking coward. You could've killed that agent, got the fucking thing out of that boy and we'd all be happy and stronger, and eager and powerful," Nnoitra said with a wild grin on his face.

"Do not try my patience Nnoitra. When I'm done with this research and find something useful, you'll be the last to know," said Szayel smugly.

Nnoitra spitted at floor. "Tsk, whatever, just coz you're important to the boss, I can't lay a finger on yah."

Szayel laughed maniacally. "Now, get out!"

He turned back to his work and watched as the silver substance in the vial swirled listlessly.

*.*.*.*

Orihime placed her pen down and held up her journal. She smiled and placed it gently on the table.

In the back of her mind she suddenly remembered a conversation she had with Rangiku before she even met Ichigo.

"_Do you like Hitsugaya-san? Rangiku-san?" asked Orihime._

"_Like? Which like? Like like or Love like?" replied Rangiku._

"_Eh? Are there many forms of like?" asked Orihime pointing a finger on her chin._

"_Well, there is a form of like for your friends and there is a form of like for your important person."_

"_For my important person?"_

"_Yes. And that 'like' is called LOVE."_

"_You're an important person to me, so that means I love Rangiku-san!" said Orihime cheerfully._

_Rangiku laughed heartily and hugged Orihime. "Well, I love you too Orihime. But our love is different. It is a love between friends, just as a 'like' between friends."_

"_Uwaah! This is so confusing!"_

"_When you find someone you LOVE, you will know the difference."_

"_What should I do then?" Orihime inquired again._

"_What else?! Make mad LOVE to each other every night until your body is sore and hearts are at ease!" exclaimed Rangiku laughing out as loudly._

"_Eh?!" exclaimed Orihime._

She opened her eyes and sighed. Orihime didn't know what Rangiku meant by that but after living with Ichigo, learning new things, from television, from her friends in Karakura Academy, she started to understand what Rangiku meant. A blush crept to her face and she held cheeks.

She smiled a lonely smile. Her friends in Karakura, her experiences, her memories, it will all disappear.

"Ichigo…" she whispered with so much longing. She stood up and touched her journal once again. She swept her fingers on the last words on her notes as headed for the door.

___good bye, halcyon days._  


~end of chapter~

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:**

Not much of an eventful chapter but a lot of secrets revealed. This chapter revolved around the time during which Ichigo was being a baby and forgot about Orihime. Anyway, when I was thinking of how Orihime felt and what her decision would be was really painful. Somehow, writing this chapter made me understand why she chose to go with Ulquiorra rather than fight back.

I like the title for this one because it clearly describes the whole chapter in one word. There are fences that are still separating them from the truth. Even I'm excited as to what would happen. My mind just comes up with this as I go. Ahehehe… Anyway, I'm blabbering too much. Hope you liked this one.

Thank you so much to everyone who's been reading, reviewing, following and favoring this story.

R&R~


	22. Chapter 22: Red Soul

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach and its characters. They are the property and original creations of Tite Kubo.

**Chapter Twenty-Two: Red Soul**

"What happened to that Ikkaku guy?" asked Ichigo as he carefully studied the new driver of the vehicle. He looked at the spiky hair with distaste.

"No, no!" exclaimed a little girl's voice from beside the driver seat. She popped her head from behind the chair and shoved her finger up Ichigo's nose. "Baldy is on a different taxi service! You're riding the secret taxi service!"

"Huh?" said Ichigo clearly irritated. He pushed the pink haired girl's hand off his nose. He looked over at Lavi and Grimmjow. Lavi clinging on to dear life while Grimmjow wore an irritated expression as the car zoomed pass other vehicles.

"I know that bald guy drove really fast but this guy's a maniac," he muttered.

"Kenpachi…" said the driver with a hoarse voice. "And this here is Yachiru."

"Ahehe, I already introduced us Ken-chan!"

"I don't mean to be rude," Lavi said with a shaky voice. "But, we've been driving for more than an hour now shouldn't we have reached HEAVEN already?"

Ichigo had thought the same. The last time he and Orihime went to HEAVEN it probably had taken them thirty minutes to get there.

"Ah, Ken-chan, turn right there," said Yachiru ignoring the comment.

Kenpachi had drove past the turn. "Ooops," he said.

"OOOPS my ASS!" yelled Ichigo. "Turn back!"

"We'll just take the next turn," replied Kenpachi, suddenly turning the wheel.

"Ahhh! I'm in a hurry you fucking bastard! Go back and take the right turn!" yelled Ichigo.

"Hah?! You calling me stupid?" exclaimed Kenpachi letting go of the wheel and pushing his forehead to Ichigo's.

"T-t-t-t-the wheel! T-t-t-take the wheel!" cried Lavi, blood draining from her cheeks. Grimmjow simply sighed and glanced out the window, only to find that the car was headed for a twenty foot drop.

"MORON! Watch out!" he yelled.

Ichigo, Lavi and Grimmjow braced themselves for impact on the dark cold water below but suddenly the car's movement was smooth and stable.

"Fucking little shit distracting my driving. Oi, Yachiru, make sure his seatbelt's on," said Kenpachi taking the wheel. The car cruised towards the sky as it would the first time Ichigo went to HEAVEN.

"Y'all should just shut up and let Yachiru and I handle this. This ain't the usual route to HEAVEN, since you guys are infiltrating it we don't want 'em agents knowing that you're coming," informed Kenpachi as he stepped on the gas.

Ichigo bit his lip and decided not to argue. HE kept wondering how his dad knew all those things and even got them a ride. He watched as a few drizzles of snow and rain slowly dropped down to the earth below. He felt slightly guilty as a thought crossed his mind, 'I'm getting all the answers once I get to HEAVEN. I'll fight for it if I have to.'

The taxi stopped and Ichigo observed that they were in a different entrance to HEAVEN. He saw a small door by the vast white wall. There were no guards or agents in sight.

"How complacent are they that they don't need any guards?" asked Lavi as they got out of the taxi.

"Don't be fooled. The door over there has a barrier that can only be opened by an angel," said Kenpachi.

"By using the robe, you mean?" said Ichigo.

"Yeah, but once you're inside, can't say for certain that you won't meet trouble," he added. "This part of the building is the old research department. Now it's just full of trash. Good luck finding your way." With that, Kenpachi drove off, Yachiru peeping out the window and waving goodbye to the three.

*.*.*.*

Urahara pressed on a green button in one of his wall mounted computers. "What is it?"

"There's been a breach in the old research department building. They didn't break in though but our sensors do not recognize them as agents," said the person on the other line.

'He's already here huh?' Urahara thought. He grinned and said, "Why don't we surprise them, shall we?"

"Roger that."

*.*.*.*

Ichigo wanted to crush the walls until he found Orihime. The place was just too big and complex that he felt he has been going around in circles.

"Why don't we split up?" said Lavi.

"That is a great idea," said Grimmjow sarcastically. "Except for the fact that this corridor has been going on and on, maybe when get to a fork on the road, eh? How 'bout that?"

Lavi shoved Grimmjow hitting the wall. "Beep"

"What's that sound?" asked Ichigo. Suddenly the floor below him opened swallowing him.

"Well, wish came true," said Grimmjow. "What now?"

"What do you mean what now?! What if Ichigo is trapped in there?" exclaimed Lavi sliding her hands on the wall Grimmjow had hit. "There are no buttons here. What the hell did you do?"

"I didn't do anything!" replied Grimmjow annoyed. "Let's just go, Ichigo can take care of himself."

Lavi raised an eyebrow and looked down at the floor where Ichigo had been. 'You better be safe, for Orihime's sake.' She thought. "All right, let's go."

The two continued on to the corridor.

*.*.*.*

"Ow," muttered Ichigo as he stood up and rubbed his bottom. He took out his guns and looked right and left. The room was dark and damp. 'Am I in a dungeon?' he thought as a cold feeling crept onto the back of his neck.

Suddenly, red emergency lights lit up one by one revealing a long corridor out of the circular room. Ichigo cautiously followed as the lights flickered going on until stopping only to reveal a metal door, obviously made to keep someone in as the locks were placed outside. As Ichigo went closer he found the door was slightly ajar. Lights flickered form inside the room. He swallowed and slowly opened the door.

Ichigo readied his gun pointing it left and right in the room. The room was not too small or too big. There was a stretcher and an operating table. Wires hung from the ceiling and out of old computers. There were cobwebs everywhere. Ichigo noticed that there were chains on the table beside some dissecting kits and things a surgeon would use. The flickering light came from one of the computers showing readings and information. Ichigo glanced at the monitor and his jaw dropped.

A familiar face came up on the screen with information scrolling up beside it. Ichigo's mother and all her personal info were reflected in Ichigo's eyes.

Ichigo resisted the urge to blow up the screen. He kept his eyes on it and read the information. Suddenly the monitor flashed and his father's face came up. He gritted his teeth as he let the information sink in. His father and mother had been working for HEAVEN.

Again the monitor flickered and he backed away accidentally hitting the table and dropping the chains to the floor. He heard his heart pumping blood and he felt like vomiting. Staring back at him was a picture of himself, a younger version.

"It's me…"

Ichigo went closer to the monitor and read his information. He grabbed the sides of the screen as he frantically tried to understand what was written.

_Ichigo ill. Used Dark Matter to combat the illness. 250mg shots twice a day. _

_Side Effects: Mutation._

Sweat rolled down Ichigo's forehead. He looked back at the table then at the chain on the floor. Memories flashed into his head as he saw himself latched on the stretcher. His mother holding his hand, "It'll be all right."

"It hurts…" he said. His eyes widened as a sudden realization crept to him. Ichigo bolted for the door.

*.*.*.*

An agent dropped to the floor unconscious as Lavi and Grimmjow gave each other a high five. "Well, at least this one told us how to get to Orihime's room," said Grimmjow shaking the blood off his daggers.

The two headed for the left wing only to find themselves face to face with Mayuri and Nemu.

"Oh! Lavinia Noctum! My favorite experiment!" exclaimed Mayuri with glee. Then turning to Grimmjow his expression becoming serious, he said, "And of course, my favorite traitor."

Lavi was stumped and looked at Grimmjow then back to Mayuri. "Why don't we just get this over with so we can get Orihime back?"

"With pleasure," Grimmjow grinned and struck at Mayuri. Nemu quickly got in between to block the attack. "Tsk, getting a girl to do your dirty work."

Grimmjow struck rapidly to get Nemu off balance and out of the way. Lavi took the chance and ran past the two curling her hands into a burning blue fist. She hit Mayuri, well, the space where Mayuri stood, turning the air into sharp icicles.

Mayuri had jumped a few feet away, taunting Lavi to come and get him. "This bastard's just asking for it," she said through gritted teeth and charged for Mayuri.

"Stupid! Don't go after him. It's a trap!" yelled Grimmjow. But it was too late; Lavi had disappeared from his sight. He tried to follow suit but Nemu was overpowering him with her knives. "Shit," he whispered.

Lavi followed Mayuri into a dark room. 'Ok, not the best of my ideas. I have to be careful,' she thought as she slowly paced the room. She flicked her fingers to light up, she hovered the fire on top of her index finger like a candle over the room. A large glass cylinder caught her attention, wires trailed off on the floor beneath it. Lavi came closer to inspect the glass only to find her reflection, or so she thought. She stepped back in surprise extinguishing her fire. Light flickered and illuminated the glass cylinder.

Lavi covered her mouth willing herself not to scream. She was looking at herself, or what it seems to be. Her replica was floating inside the glass cylinder, as if she were asleep. Wires dangled from the back of her neck and locks were chained to her wrists and feet.

"Lavinia Noctum, meet Lavinia Noctum!" exclaimed Mayuri as he appeared from behind the glass.

"You made a clone of me?!" Lavi exclaimed horrified at the thought.

"Oh, no… We made a clone out of her," said Mayuri pointing to the Lavi in the glass. "The mother of the angels in HEAVEN, the captured angel, Aizen's lover, the origin or whatever you want to call her, for one thing, she's the REAL deal."

*.*.*.*

Ichigo stopped at an empty hallway to catch his breath. His thirst for knowledge didn't prepare him for what he had seen earlier. He held onto his head and tried to remember a memory, but it was too fuzzy for him to completely recall.

"I'll deal with this later, I have to find Orihime," he said as he banged his fist on the wall. He accidentally pushed a revolving door making him fall out of balance as he got inside another one of HEAVEN's many rooms. This one was as huge as a ballroom hall with empty human size glass cylinders at one end and computers on the other.

"When I find Urahara I'm making sure to suggest he remodel this place."

"Ichigo?" said someone from across the room.

Ichigo turned to look at the person only to find huge bosoms coming at him.

"Matsumoto-ummppphhh"

"I knew it! You'd stick to your word!" she said with delight hugging the daylights out of Ichigo.

"Where is Orihime?!" exclaimed Ichigo as he shoved Matsumoto off him. Matsumoto's smiling face turned into a frown. "Where is Orihime?!" Ichigo repeated loudly.

"I'm sorry Ichigo. I guess it might be too late for you now," she replied.

"What do you mean?" Ichigo asked.

"Orihime Inoue is gone," said another from behind Matsumoto. Hitsugaya had come in from a door behind the wall.

"What-? That's…" stuttered Ichigo.

"I'm sorry Ichigo," whispered Matsumoto as she stood up. "Taicho, we shouldn't do this," she said looking at Hitsugaya.

"Orders are orders," turning to Ichigo he continued, "We're sending you back to earth whether you like it or not. If you resist, then we have no choice but to eliminate you."

"I'd like to see you try," said Ichigo eyes flaring with anger. He quickly stood up and pointed his gun at Hitsugaya.

Matsumoto had summoned Hitsugaya's weapon from her phone. A long halberd spear appeared with chains dangling at its end. It was smoking but it didn't smoke from heat but from the cold air emanating from it. Ichigo felt the hairs on his skin stand on end.

"Prepare yourself Kurosaki," said Hitsugaya taking a fighting stance. Before Ichigo could take in what was happening Hitsugaya had disappeared from his position.

Ichigo felt his presence above him and barely manage to dodge his attack as it hit the ground turning it into ice and spreading a few feet from the attack.

'He's really fast,' Ichigo thought as he tried to read Hitsugaya's movements. Ichigo hardly shot his gun as he would get interrupted by Histugaya's attacks.

'Shit, he's serious,' he thought. Suddenly he felt pain on his back and saw a glimpse of Matsumoto kicking him from behind making him fly towards the wall, breaking at least 20 glass pods in the process.

"Give up Kurosaki," offered Hitsugaya. "We will give you a chance to erase your memory and forget everything about this. Return to your old life."

Ichigo got up quickly. There were bruises and cuts all over his body. His eyes flared with anger.

"My old life? The life where I'm miserable and pathetic? Who would want to go back to that?!"

"At least it won't be painful like this one," said Matsumoto solemnly.

"When I chose to love her I knew that it would be painful, but I'd rather have this painful life with her by my side than having her disappear from my life!"

As if in slow motion, Ichigo's blood floated from the ground and his body forming an aura around him. Red turning to black, none of them had noticed. Ichigo pointed his right hand gun at Hitsugaya and blasted something like a laser instead of a bullet. His gun exploded in the process distracting everyone making Hitsugaya unable to quickly dodge the attack hitting him on the left side of his body.

Ichigo managed to keep his bearings. He felt something heavy on his right hand and saw that he was holding a hilt that extended to a katana, his other hand still holding his gun although it had changed, it was pure black with silver linings and it was bigger and heavier.

"Hitsugaya-taicho!" exclaimed Matsumoto from behind the smoke. As the smoke cleared he was surprised that the attack broke down the wall and left a messy trail.

"I'm fine," said Hitsugaya. He slowly got up with Matsumoto's help and gestured to Ichigo. "You should've taken the offer to go back."

Matsumoto looked at Ichigo with grieve. "I don't know how you'll react when you find out, but I hope there will be a chance for you."

"What are you talking about?" asked Ichigo, his eyes still flaring with rage.

"Orihime Inoue is gone. She has been compromised," said Hitsugaya before finally passing out.

~end of chapter~

****

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

Red Soul is Anima Rossa, check out its English lyrics, it's like a dedication to fight for something you want to protect. Just like Ichigo to Orihime. Anyway, I know you want to have Ichigo and Orihime meet and continue with their lovely relationship, don't worry it's almost there (wish I could say the same for the manga though).

Questions? Suggestions? Complaints? Just post it on the review and I'll see what I can do.

Btw, I'm sorry if my chapters have recently become shorter, I'll try to keep it long but make it so that it fits a weekly or every other week update.

Thank you so much to everyone who's been reading, reviewing, following and favoring this story.

R&R~


	23. Chapter 23: Blue Bird

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach and its characters. They are the property and original creations of Tite Kubo.

**Chapter Twenty-Three: Blue Bird**

"Lavi!" exclaimed Grimmjow as he entered the room. He found her kneeling, her eyes blank and emotionless. Across her was a grinning Mayuri, apparently pleased with her reaction. He almost failed to notice the pod in between the two. He scowled at what he saw. He tied to pull Lavi up but she resisted.

"You knew…" she whispered.

"Tsk," muttered Grimmjow. "This isn't the time for this."

"Ah, yes, yes… well, I'm amused enough," said Mayuri. "Nemu."

Nemu had entered the room, her left arm dangled; her shoulder was dislocated from her fight with Grimmjow. Blood dripped as she went to approach Mayuri.

"What a mess Nemu, you'll receive punishment later," commented Mayuri.

"My apologies Mayuri-sama," she replied in a whisper.

"Well then," he said turning to Grimmjow. "I'm not really that interested in stopping you. My goal has been achieved."

Grimmjow growled. He lunged for Mayuri but Nemu dropped a smoke bomb as he did.

"Fuck! Fuck!" he cried in between coughs. He reached for Lavi but she was not there. He quickly looked right and left and called for her. "OI! LAVI!"

Once the smoke cleared he saw Lavi standing in front of the pod. She placed her hands on the glass and examined the person in it, the true Lavi.

"So I'm a fake," she said. "That must mean my memories are fake as well."

Grimmjow stood there, he was lost for words. After all, he has deceived her. He was branded by Mayuri, a traitor.

Lavi looked at Grimmjow with a smile, tears flowing down her cheeks. "I'm not supposed to exist… I'm not real, not the real Lavi."

Grimmjow gritted his teeth and pulled Lavi into a hug. "Shut up already! You're here! I can feel your warmth! To me you're real!"

Silence filled the room. Grimmjow felt like he can hear how fast his heart was beating.

"Grimmjow…" said Lavi.

"Yeah?"

"I can't breathe."

Grimmjow quickly let go of the red head. Blood rushed to his cheeks but he quickly regained his composure.

"You can tell me everything later," said Lavi breaking the tension. "You will tell me… right?"

Grimmjow nodded. "Well then, let's stop this drama and go look for Orihime," declared Lavi.

Grimmjow ran behind her, his thoughts lost in his memories.

FLASHBACK

"So how were you able to get to HEAVEN?" asked Isshin.

A thirteen year old Grimmjow had his head low, scowling at the ground.

"Urahara recruited you?" Isshin continued to ask.

Grimmjow continued to be silent. The two walked on a long hallway of a facility. There were glass windows on the walls. Grimmjow saw people in lab coats. There was a body on the stretcher that they were working on. He looked terrified as the body flinched. He quickened his pace as Isshin turned to a corner.

"It seems I'm not gonna get answers from you so let's just move on," Isshin said eyeing Grimmjow as he saw his terrified expression.

"You shouldn't be afraid of this place. This is HEAVEN. We will help a lot of people. You can atone for your sins here."

Grimmjow looked at Isshin who smiled back at him with kindness. Grimmjow bit his lips and continued his observation of the place. As he turned to look at one glass window, he saw a glimpse of blood red hair floating in a pod. A girl was unknowingly floating in a glass pod. There were wires connected to her body by needles. Her sleeping form was beautiful, her long hair floating around her.

"Who is…?"

"She is Lavinia," said Isshin as if reading his thoughts. "Well, at least a piece of her."

"What?"

"We're trying to replicate a true angel's power. I think Urahara has explained most of it right?" he said gesturing for Grimmjow to move along.

Grimmjow didn't want to move, but he continued to walk with Isshin. "I… I killed the man who killed my family," he whispered. Isshin didn't react.

"I was going crazy. I became a delinquent and vent out my anger by beating up people. It was tasteless but it was fun. When Urahara found me, I was beaten up by the Yakuza and left me for dead. I thought back then that I should be, but he told me I could serve a better purpose so he took me in."

"Well then, I look forward to working with you," said Isshin as he stopped at an empty hall and opened a door. "This is your room. You can leave me a message on the computer right over there. There's a map of the place, all the information you need to know and the directory. I'll meet you at the lobby when you're ready."

Grimmjow entered the room and quickly scanned the computer. As he read the information on the screen he felt both excited and afraid. "A new life huh… I hope I can get used to this quickly."

*.*.*.*

Grimmjow couldn't get accustomed to HEAVEN even though he has worked for over a year. The uneasiness he felt every time he passed by a room still hasn't died out.

"Ah! Grimmjow!" called out a girl's voice from one of the rooms. Grimmjow turned to look at her and saw a bright smile greet him. The girl had long blood red hair and stormy gray eyes that sparkled at the sight of him.

"Hey," muttered Grimmjow. He didn't stare too long because he disliked the comfort he felt whenever he saw her. Despite being locked up in a glass case room and chained by the wrists and ankles the girl was still as cheerful as ever.

"You really should start saying my name properly," she said. "I mean, that's what friends do, right?"

"Uggh… Whatever! I still have work to do, so I'm going now…" said Grimmjow in an irritated tone. "See yah, Lavi," he quickly followed up before running down the hallway.

"Pfft, hahahaha! What a dishonest fellow," laughed Lavi. "See you later Grimmjow!"

Grimmjow felt a smirk creep up his face. He ran along until he accidently bumped into someone.

"Oh? Grimmjow."

"Err, Kurosaki…" he said grudgingly. The last guy he wanted to see and he was standing in front of him.

"Where are you going?" asked Isshin.

"I was, going to see if I had any more work to finish," replied Grimmjow.

"Well, it's a good thing I caught you," said Isshin. The young Grimmjow who he looked down on had grown a lot during the year, and now he was almost eye-to-eye with him. "I'm leaving."

Grimmjow suddenly turned to look at Isshin. "What?"

"I've resigned. I talked it out clearly with Urahara. I've done my part here and it's time I start focusing on other matters… like my family," he said with a little sadness in his eyes.

Grimmjow bit his lip. "It'll be different without you," he whispered.

Isshin smiled and patted Grimmjow on the shoulder. He was about to walk away when he whispered, "Although, there is something I want you to help me with before I leave."

END OF FLASHBACK

"It's Orihime's room," said Lavi as she panted and paced the room swiftly. "Where could she be?"

Grimmjow went in and quickly typed on the computer mounted on the wall. "I'll try to tap into the system and locate her. The computers in the room are easy to hack," he said.

Lavi raised an eyebrow but held her question in as it was not the time for it. She looked over at Orihime's desk and found a journal. She skimmed through it and almost dropped the diary in shock.

"Grimmjow!" she called out.

"What?" he replied in annoyance.

"They've removed her memories. What if…?" she said hesitantly. "We have to find Ichigo."

"I know where he is," Grimmjow replied and pulled Lavi out of the room.

The monitor on the mounted computer showed Ichigo face to face with the young man who took Orihime away from him.

Ishida had entered the ballroom-sized room through the hole Ichigo made. He held a glowing bow with an arrow ready to shoot out if need be. He adjusted his glasses and looked at the orange haired boy who scowled at him. He could sense the anger emanating from his body but that didn't even make the bow wielder shake.

"You have proven exactly what I feared," he said calmly. "You are a threat Kurosaki. It was the right decision that I took Inoue-san away."

"Shut the fuck up!" yelled Ichigo charging towards Ishida shooting at him.

Ishida effortlessly dodged every bullet. His face though turned grim as he watched the ground crumble at the small bullet's impact.

"You seem to have gotten stronger," he commended.

"Fighting all those SINS to get here paid off then," said Ichigo with a sly grin. He agin charged at Ishida at lightning speed and swung his sword at him.

Ishida was slightly taken aback by the sudden change in Ichigo's capabilities. "You have a sword. Your powers are evolving," he said his expression getting darker. Fixing his glasses he raised his bow. "I'm not going to hold back. I have no intention of sparing your life. I will kill you, even if Urahara-san opposes it."

Ichigo readied his sword as Ishida flicked the arrow from his bow. His eyes widened in shock as the arrows separated in the air and hundreds of arrows dispersed towards his direction.

Matsumoto who was a few feet from the battle covered herself and Hitsugaya as the arrows rained down on Ichigo. Dust gathered around them as the arrows landed rapidly on its target. Matsumoto held her breathe, she hoped Ichigo was all right.

As the smoke cleared a blood drenched Ichigo panted. His sword was still in his hand, clothes ripped and an arrow was protruding from his left thigh.

'Amazing, he was able to cut through at least half of those arrows,' Matsumoto thought.

"I think I've had my fill," said Ichigo as he pulled out the white glowing arrow from his thigh. "My turn."

Ichigo had disappeared from sight and appeared beside Ishida. He swung his sword which Ishida barely dodged cutting his face. Blood rushed to his cheeks staining his white suit.

"I just made these," he uttered gesturing at his clothes. He grabbed a vile from his pocket and poured the contents onto his wound. His cheek looked like it was burning as smoke came out of it; the wound didn't close but the bleeding stopped.

Ichigo swung his sword as Ishida shot at him with arrows. Ichigo simultaneously shot his gun which got Ishida on his shoulders.

"That's for abducting my girlfriend," yelled Ichigo with rage. He swung his sword which Ishida was able to block with his bow. Unfortunately for him, Ichigo was much stronger that his bow flew from his hands. Ichigo was about to swing a final blow when his sword had hit something else.

An orange shield formed between him and Ishida. It shattered slowly at Ichigo's swing. He stared at it for a long time. His eyes hollow and surprised, he quickly turned his gaze to the source of power.

"Ori… hime…" he stammered.

Orihime wore an angry expression. She quickly ran towards Ishida's side and held his injured body. "Are you all right Uryu-kun?" asked Orihime.

Ichigo's eyebrow twitched. Orihime turned to look at Ichigo, she was clearly angry at what he had done.

"Who are you?! And why are you trying to hurt Uryu-kun?!" she exclaimed. She then saw an unconscious Hitsugaya by Matsumoto's arms. She looked at Ichigo her eyes were filled with anger and worry.

"I don't know who you are, but it is clear to me you are a bad person. I'm sorry, but you have hurt my friends, I will stop you."

~end of chapter~

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:**

One word. EXAMS.

*grovels on the floor* gomenasai.

Anyway, this chapter mostly revolved around how Grimmjow met Lavi and somewhat a little about his past. Sorry if the Ichihime moments are lacking but it'll go towards that as the story progresses. The change in Ichigo's weapon is related to bankai but the real reason for it will be revealed in the story. So keep reading! :D

I wanted to show my apology by sharing to you some Ichihime sketches I made, unfortunately I don't think I can post links here, where do you think I can put them? Maybe in the reviews?

Thank you so much to everyone who's been reading, reviewing, following and favoring this story.

R&R~


	24. Chapter 24: Orange First Love

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach and its characters. They are the property and original creations of Tite Kubo.

**Chapter Twenty-Four: Orange First Love**

Ichigo stared at the stormy gray eyes of the angel. He searched her eyes for any glint of remembrance but he couldn't find himself reflected in them. He couldn't recover his bearings at the revelation that she had forgotten him.

"Orihime-chan!" called out Matsumoto but Hitsugaya had pulled her back.

"Even if you interfere, you will only make things worse," he said.

Orihime stared intensely at Ichigo. She was slightly confused as the young man before her did not make a move. He simply stared at her.

Ichigo tried not to look at Orihime but the fact that she was already there, right in front of him he couldn't just turn away. He gritted his teeth, fought back his emotions and said, "Orihime, it's me Ichigo. I'm… I'm your Kami." He wanted to say boyfriend but was afraid that it would mean nothing to her.

"Kami? I don't have a Kami," replied Orihime taking a few steps back. "I… You're only trying to confuse me!"

Ichigo tightened his grip on his sword. He was somehow glad he didn't say boyfriend or else he would have felt ten times more pain in his heart than he felt right then and there.

"I-Inoue-san," said Ishida breaking the cold silent atmosphere.

"Uryuu-kun! Please, don't stand up!" she exclaimed; the barrier of her Soten Kisshun glowing bright orange around the young man.

"Let me handle this. You should go back and rest."

"But, Uryuu-kun…"

"He's confusing you. You won't be able to fight him in that condition," said Ishida.

Ichigo felt a nerve snap and yelled, "Shut up! You're the one who's confusing her!"

Suddenly a sharp orange light passed Ichigo cutting his cheek.

"Don't move!" yelled Orihime. Her hands in front of her, the orange light returning to her side, she continued, "I will not hesitate to cut you."

Ichigo stepped back, he couldn't take it anymore, he fell to his knees and begged, "Orihime, please, remember…"

"Don't listen to him Inoue-san!" said Ishida.

Sweat rolled down Orihime's forehead. "I… No, I won't listen to you," she said with finality.

"I am…" Ichigo stammered.

"I'm sorry, but… you mean nothing to me," said Orihime, although she felt a searing pain on her head.

Ichigo looked back at Orihime's determined look to stop him.

"Koten Zanshun, I reject!" exclaimed Orihime. Ichigo closed his eyes in frustration, banged on the pavement and cried.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGH HHHHHHHH!"

"What the?!" yelled Ishida.

"OI! ICHIGO!" shouted another voice from behind. Ichigo opened his eyes to find a large wall of ice had appeared before him subduing Orihime's attack.

"Grimmjow… Lavi…" he said turning his head.

"What do you think you're doing, you pussy!? If you want to save the woman you love, fight! Even if it's against her!" yelled Grimmjow angrily.

"What Grimmjow is trying to say," added Lavi. "Knock Orihime down. When she's unconscious we'll be able to restore her memories."

"I can't just do that!" yelled Ichigo.

"Shut up and just fucking do it!" Grimmjow yelled back.

Ichigo steadied himself. He turned back to the angel who was obviously confused but somehow managed to stand at ready.

"I'm sorry Orihime, but this is for your own good," he said swiftly moving towards the busty beauty.

"Shiten Koshun! I reject!"

A flash of orange light surprised Ichigo but it was too late for him to withdraw his attack. His sword hit the pyramidal shield.

"Wha—" muttered Ichigo. A blaze of orange light fired back at him and he was thrown to the ground. His clothes ripped and blood gushed out of his wounds.

"When did you have such ability like that?" said Ichigo coughing up blood.

"When her contract with you was severed, all her abilities returned to her," answered Ishida who was now 100% healed.

Ichigo's eyes widened in shock but the others were even more surprised.

"If… If that's so, why does Kurosaki Ichigo still able to use his powers?" asked Hitsugaya.

Ishida turned to Hitsugaya and as if telepathically telling him the answer, Hitsugaya swallowed. "I see…"

"This is all the more reason why we have to stop you," said Ishida.

Ichigo was confused but he did understand that there was something about him that felt like a threat to Ishida and not simply because he had feelings for Orihime.

"Enough," said Lavi. Everyone was surprised to hear her speak. "Orihime!" she called out.

Orihime look dumbfounded at the red haired woman. What shocked her more was that she was suddenly a few feet from her.

"When an angel falls in love with a human, she breaks the rules that the Gods made…" said Lavi as if in a chant.

"But God's rule has a loophole…" continued Orihime. Realizing what she did she place her hands over her mouth.

"YES. That is LOVE. Love breaks all boundaries, breaks rules, it defies all reason…"

Orihime trembled a bit. Lavi threw the journal she was carrying. "It's a knowledge true angels know. You know you love Ichigo. Even if your mind has forgotten it, your heart won't, that's why when you're reminded, you remember. That's how strong your love is… right?"

Orihime looked down at the journal by her feet. Tears fell as she read…

_I love how he scowls even though Tatsuki-chan or Kuchiki-san dislikes it._

_I love the way he looks at me, when he's worried, annoyed or just simply stealing a glance._

_I love his spicy scent._

_I love how strong his feelings are of wanting to protect others._

Orihime fell to her knees and started to flip the pages of the journal.

"Inoue-san! Stop…" said Ishida but he felt his strength leave him as he watched Orihime's shoulders shake. Her crying made it harder for him to speak.

"Ori—" uttered Ichigo. He could barely move due to the wounds dealt to his body.

Orihime finally looked up. Her tear stained face made Ichigo even weaker.

"I…I… ICHIGO!" she cried standing up and running to him.

"Orihime," whispered Ichigo in relief, catching the crying Orihime in his arms.

Orihime squeezed him tightly making him choke.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry…" Orihime said repeatedly.

"It doesn't matter. You're here now, in my arms… That's all that matters," said Ichigo hugging her tightly.

Grimmjow went over to Ishida. "I guess your resolve is weak."

"No," replied Ishida turning around. "Her love is just that strong."

"He will protect her," said Grimmjow.

"How can you be so sure of that?" asked Ishida.

"I'm not. But he is."

"I don't care anymore. If things go exactly as how I predicted, it'll be Urahara-san's fault. I just tried to stop something grievous from happening."

Grimmjow watched as Ishida left the room.

"You," said Hitsugaya as Matsumoto aided him to walk towards him.

"I still have a bounty on my head?" asked Grimmjow.

"No… I'm not here to arrest you. My job is damage control. And the best decision right now is to let you handle this. You are indebted to Kurosaki Isshin," said Hitsugaya.

Grimmjow didn't say anything. He simply turned his head towards Ichigo and watched him flinch a little under Orihime's healing barrier.

"We'll see each other again. Take care," said Hitsugaya as he and Matsumoto left.

*.*.*.*

"So you intended this to happen?" ask Yoruichi. She was clearly angry.

"It has to. If it didn't, Ichigo's powers wouldn't grow as it did just now," replied Urahara.

"I don't know how far you are taking this Urahara, but if this becomes uncontrollable, I don't know if I'll be able to protect you."

Urahara looked at Yoruichi. "Protect me? I'd rather have you the one being protected."

"This isn't the time to joke around you fool!" yelled Yoruichi smacking him with a notebook. "Look! The boy's calling out for you, how are you going to handle that?!"

Yoruichi pointed at the monitor in front of Urahara. They had been watching Ichigo the whole time.

"Shall we welcome them then?" said Urahara. Turning on the intercom he spoke, "A-re? Kurosaki-kun? What are you doing there?"

"You know damn well what I'm doing here! You better fucking come out here or I'll find you and beat the crap out of you!" yelled Ichigo.

"Eh? Well, then, please wait a moment," said Urahara. He looked at the furious Yoruichi. "What?"

"You better start explaining to me what's going through that insane head of yours," she said a vein popping on her head.

"All right, let's go meet them," said Urahara smirking. Pressing a button, he watched as Ichigo and company fall off the trap door.

*.*.*.*

Urahara and Yoruichi paced an empty room as they waited. Suddenly like a blurry light passed their eyes, Ichigo and the others appeared and fell to the floor.

"Get off of me!" yelled Ichigo as he was at the bottom of the pile. Grimmjow's face planted on his back while the two angels sat on top of him.

The three quickly got up and brushed off the sooth and dust on their clothes. Orihime quickly went over to help Ichigo up.

"Ichigo, are you all right?"

"Ye-yeah," replied Ichigo. Looking at Orihime after she had been gone for quite a while made him blush. He got up and tried to casually look around.

From the shadows Urahara watched as they called out for him. Taking a deep breathe, he stepped into the light.

"Everyone seems to be doing well," he commented. Yoruichi stood beside him, equally nonchalant.

"You!" said Ichigo with much anger in his tone that his hands glowed. His weapon appeared and he walked up towards Urahara pointing his sword at his chin. "You have ten seconds to explain to me what the hell is going on!"

Urahara merely looked at Ichigo, a glint of amusement in his eyes. "It's going to take more than ten seconds to tell you the whole story. If you calmed down, maybe we can manage it in ten minutes."

Orihime went over to Ichigo and held his arms to calm him down. Ichigo lowered his sword and it disappeared like a bubble popping. "Ten minutes then," he said holding onto Orihime's hand. He clutched it tightly and gently. Orihime noticed Ichigo slightly tremble, whatever Urahara was about to explain seems to bother him. Orihime took her hand away from his arm and grabbed onto his hand, entwining her fingers with his. Ichigo turned to Orihime who reassuringly smiled at him. He smiled but his eyebrows were still crossed.

"Where should I start… hmmm," Urahara thought bringing out his fan and pointing it his chin.

"How about you start explaining why you took the girl?" said Grimmjow. Urahara looked at him with contempt.

"Ah yes, well, I wasn't the one who actually thought of it. Ishida-kun was very suspicious of Kurosaki-kun, so he simply proposed the idea, I approved of it since he was well on the way of completing his contract."

"It's not even a year yet, I haven't killed 500 SINS," argued Ichigo.

"Yes, well, you did kill off a Reaper, that's worth more than 500 SINS," he said waving his hand like the idea was so obvious.

"That's wasn't part of the deal!" Ichigo yelled.

"It can still be, as it is a work you've done for this company. At any rate, you would eventually complete the contract and Orihime would still be taken away from you."

Ichigo's eyes widened in realization, Orihime would eventually leave him. He gritted his teeth, angrier at himself than anyone in HEAVEN at that moment.

Orihime placed her other hand on Ichigo's. She didn't know what to say, rather, she couldn't say what she was thinking 'I'll always be by your side,' she thought, because even she wasn't sure about it.

It was very quiet. Urahara didn't continue he simply thought to himself, 'I told you not to fall in love.'

"I… I'll work for the company," said Ichigo breaking the deafening silence.

Yoruichi suddenly lost her composure and looked at Urahara's reaction. He was still calm and simply smiled. 'Don't…' was what she could only think of.

"Are you sure?"

Everyone turned to look at Ichigo. His eyes determined. He tightened his hold on Orihime.

"Yes."

Lavi looked at Grimmjow waiting if he would object but he simply shook his head. "It's his decision. He will eventually regret it, but if it'll give him time to be with her longer, then we'll just have to respect it."

Lavi felt tears well up, she bit her lips and hoped, 'May the Gods be merciful.'

"You are a valuable asset to the company," said Urahara. Suddenly his eyes looked dark and stern. "Decisions like these have consequences, are you ready to face them?"

Ichigo looked at Orihime who nodded in reassurance. "If she stays by my side, then I'm ready for anything." His eyes stared back at Urahara who simply sighed.

'I know how you feel, I don't want you to go through any of it, but I made a promise and this is the only way,' Urahara thought. "Well, it's settled then! You'll go by the usual job; I'll have Hitsugaya brief you on other matters."

"Huh? That's it? Easy as that?" asked Ichigo.

"If I were to say no, would you calmly leave HEAVEN?" replied Urahara.

Ichigo was dumbfounded but didn't argue.

"That's what I thought," said Urahara. "Now that that's out of the way, do I need to explain anything else?"

The room became silent once again. Ichigo felt his heart race. 'My parents, my past…' he thought over and over. His grip tightened even more that Orihime winced from the pain.

"Ichigo," she muttered.

"We don't have any more questions," interrupted Grimmjow reading the atmosphere.

Ichigo loosened his grip and turned to Grimmjow who continued, "We got the girl, you've given an explanation, I think we can peacefully leave everything at that."

Urahara didn't budge but he knew what Grimmjow was trying to do. "Very well then," he said rummaging through his pocket. "Kurosaki-kun, if you have anything to ask, don't hesitate to call," he said throwing a cellphone which Ichigo barely caught.

"We'll be cutting off damage repairs from your first paycheck, Ichigo," said Yoruichi. Ichigo somehow felt a little relived at the sudden pace of the moment. "Ye-yeah, sure," he replied.

"Aa-ah, so busy," said Urahara flapping open his fan. "I'll have Ikkaku-kun send you back home."

"Ah, wait, about Orihime and I, are we link again?" Ichigo asked clearly flustered.

"Hmm, you'll find out once you go back on the battle field," replied Urahara with a mischievous smile. He brought out what seemed to be like a detonator, "See you soon Kurosaki-kun, Orihime-chan." With that he clicked the button and the two disappeared with a pop.

"Waah!" cried Lavi. "What did you do?"

"I simply sent them to where Ikkaku-kun is," said Urahara. "As for you two…"

Grimmjow was ready going in front of Lavi to shield her. He sent out his daggers, eyes fixed on Urahara.

"Let's forget about the past shall we?" said Urahara. "We'll need to work together, especially now that Ichigo's real powers have awakened."

~end of chapter~

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:**

Akemashite Omedetou! Happy New Year Everyone!

I was working on a one shot that I was going to post for Christmas but couldn't make it in time. There were just a lot of awkward family trips that I couldn't escape so I wasn't able to spend much time in writing it. I will post it when I finish it, though it'll be slightly out of season. Anyway, like manga, this is the end for this arc, and a new arc will open. I wonder how Ichigo and Orihime's relationship will be. And will they finally have a decent first date? What's your ideal place for a first date?

By the way, the title, Orange First Love (Orenji no Hatsukoi) is a song by Younha. If you have time, hope you can read the English translation of the lyrics, it's like a song Orihime would sing for Ichigo. Oh, and I also placed the links of my Ichihime fan art on my profile, hope you'll like it :)

Thank you so much to everyone who's been reading, reviewing, following and favoring this story.

R&R~


	25. Chapter 25: Hello Again

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach and its characters. They are the property and original creations of Tite Kubo.

**Chapter Twenty-Five: Hello Again**

_April 20_

_Hello diary! I have always thought of writing again but I'm always so busy. Anyway, what's so special about today? Well, Ichigo-kun and I are going flower viewing with our classmates. Waaah! The cherry blossoms are in full bloom so early in the spring. The new term will begin on Monday. I'm so excited about it! We're going to be 3__rd__ years now. It'll be our last year in High School. Well, I know I didn't actually study from the start but having my friends around even for that short while made me feel very happy. _

_Anyway, let me summarize all that had happened since the incident. I learned about a wonderful occasion. It seems that people celebrate something called Valentine's Day. Kuchiki-san told me that the girls would give chocolates to the boys they love which they call honmei-choco. They would also make some for their friends; I think they call it giri-choco. They celebrate it every year on Feb 14, isn't that wonderful? Kuchiki-san and I went to a bake shop for chocolates the day before. It was filled with ingredients for making chocolates and there were a lot of girls buying ingredients for their love-filled chocolates. I asked Kuchiki-san if I could put sweet bean paste in my choco, she said I could but she wouldn't recommend it. I wonder why most of my friends don't like it. It tastes good with everything! :D_

_Kuchiki-san's brother was very kind to help us make the chocolates, but he was a little weird. He made seaweed shapes out of the chocolates and said "Admiral Seaweed chocolates are good too." Well, I guess he made them for himself. Kuchiki-san made bunny shapes while I made heart shapes and strawberry shapes. I stayed at their place for the night. It was really fun hanging out with Kuchiki-san again after a long while. She showed me pictures of Ichigo-kun when he was still in junior high. He was really cute back then. Now he's very handsome and matured. Ahh, I can't believe I'm blushing right now._

_So I handed my love-filled chocolates to Ichigo-kun. I handed it at the rooftop while we were alone as suggested by Kuchiki-san since it was the best scenario. Ichigo-kun was a little red back then, I checked if he was sick. He then gazed intensely at me and held my hand. The next thing I know, he leaned in to kiss me! hdcbasdb,aks asffkjhbnc! (OMG! I'm sorry I started scribbling nonsense, I just suddenly remembered the feeling. .) Well, he just kissed me on the forehead but it was so sweet I thought I was going to faint. I handed the rest of my giri-choco to my friends and also to Hitsugaya-san, Sado-kun and Ishida-kun. Ishida-kun and Ichigo-kun seem pretty close now. They may always argue but Ishida-kun seems relieved and I'm happy about it._

_The next memorable thing that happened was a month after. Humans are very interesting. They have all sorts of celebrations. This time it was the boys' turn to give something to the girls in return for the chocolates they received on Valentine's. They called the occasion, White day. Ahh, I forgot the reason why though. Anyway, it was pretty disastrous since a lot of SINS kept appearing that day. I was so excited thinking that Ichigo would give me a gift but I didn't want to bother him with such, since we were so busy fighting off the monsters. When night came, I couldn't believe I was so tired that as soon as we got home, I fell asleep. The next day I got a really big surprise. Ichigo had cooked breakfast, ah, he wasn't very good at cooking but I loved the thought of him going out of his way to make me something special. On the tray were a letter and a white rose. He meant to give it to me the day before but a lot of stuff came up; I didn't really mind, it was still sweet of him to remember._

_Ah, that's it for today, I'll continue some other day, Ichigo-kun is calling me for the Sakura viewing. Matta-ne! _

_April 24_

_Somehow Ichigo is a little distant. Whenever we talked he would always seem to be caught up in his thoughts. If I asked what he was thinking about, or what was bothering him, he would simply change the topic. I keep thinking it might be because Grimmjow-san and Lavi-san had been missing for a few weeks now. At first we thought they were just being unsociable but when we tried calling them to invite them for the flower-viewing, they never picked up. We asked Hitsugaya-san if he knew anything but it did seem like he had been looking for them for weeks. It was then when Kurosaki Isshin-san told Ichigo-kun that Grimmjow-san will be away for a while and to not look for him. I'm a bit worried about them but as long as they have each other, they can keep each other safe._

_Although, that's my theory, but it still feels like there is a deeper reason for Ichigo-kun's broody mood. Lately because of that, we're finding it harder to fend off the SINS. The case may also be because they seem to have been getting very strong. Urahara-san asked us to go to HEAVEN that afternoon, so we had to cut last period. I was shocked when we got there. The whole place was a mess! The reports tell that there was a breach in the old research building. They said it was an equipment malfunction that caused the explosion but Urahara-san thought otherwise. I don't know what he's trying to make of it, though he did say it might be a Reaper. We had our doubts since nothing came up on the security records from when the explosion happened. What surprised me, while Urahara-san was explaining the situation, was Ichigo's reaction. His mood darkened at the mention of something being stolen. I somehow feel like Urahara-san was telling him something telepathically. I tried to lighten the mood but Ichigo-kun still smiled sadly. I wonder what was stolen and why Ichigo-kun reacted that way even though Uarahara-san didn't mention what it was. Maybe I'll ask Rangiku-san tomorrow. _

_April 25_

_Today was chaotic! SINS have been attacking us everywhere. They seem to be evolving. It's like the humans being possessed are aware that they're becoming monsters. It has become harder to remove their memories. We had to call Hitsugaya-san so many times that he and Rangiku-san decided to stick with us throughout the whole day. I finally got to be alone with Rangiku-san to ask her. She told me that information was stolen from the old research department, but she wasn't informed about it or which information it was. What she does seem to know is that Urahara-san is not his usual self. What is Urahara-san's usual self really? (uwaah, sorry for the sudden comment .). Anyway, whatever was taken seems to greatly affect Urahara-san and Ichigo-kun. I should muster my courage and ask him. But I wonder if I could really be of any help?_

_April 29_

_The past few days, the SINS seem to have died down and today seem unexpectedly peaceful. I made Ichigo-kun bento as suggested by Kurosaki Isshin-san (he insists that I should call him Papa but I'm still a little embarrassed /). I still haven't asked Ichigo-kun about what happened, but he looks a little better now. Although I still feel a little lonely at how distant he is. Kuchiki-san would always punch him when he spaced out. I hoped that I could ask him today when I give him my bento. But what happened instead was really unexpected._

_Ahem, ok, I had to go drink some water before I write this part. So what happened was I asked Ichigo-kun if we could have lunch together at the school garden. Everyone in class got excited and cheered for us. They even made sure that we would be the only ones at the garden. Sure enough, we were alone, but it was cute and funny that my classmates made a signage saying "Ichigo Kurosaki and Orihime Inoue lunch date. Do not disturb or else Renji Abarai and Rukia Kuchiki will punch you in the balls. P.S. if you're a girl, Keigo Asano will kiss you. P.S.S. If you remove this Ichigo, I will seriously punch you in the balls –Rukia". Ichigo-kun got really irritated that he removed it. I'm happy that we got the support of our friends. So I decided that I would not let them down and muster my courage to ask him. Ah, Ichigo was quite reluctant to eat, he asked me about a lot of things like why is there chocolate on the carrots or why I had sweet bean paste sandwiches. This is what I told him… "When I eat these kinds of food they make me happy. I guess it's what they called 'comfort food'. I thought that maybe if you had some, you'd be happy. It's because Ichigo-kun seems a little lonely."_

_Before I could say anything more, Ichigo-kun hugged me! (Uwaah! /) He then held my cheeks and stared really long into my eyes. I thought I was going to faint. He kissed me on the forehead and looked back at me. He said he wanted to tell me what happened but since he was a little unsure, he asked if I could just wait a little longer. I didn't try to push him to tell me, I simply hugged him and told him, "Whatever it is that is carving a hole through your heart, I will be here to heal it, ok? Tell me when you're ready. If it serves anything, I guess it wouldn't hurt to find confidence in your father." _

_Ichigo-kun's spirit has lifted. I'm happy to have been able to help him even in the littlest of ways. What surprised me more about today was that after we discussed it, he pulled me back and kissed me! I… well, it had been a really long time since he last kissed me on the lips. And the big unexpected thing (other than Ichigo-kun kissing me) was our classmates spying on us! Waaah! Chizuru-chan was really angry for some reason. Asano-san was crying (hopefully tears of joy?). Kuchiki-san and Abarai-kun were holding a camera. It was quite embarrassing but at least Ichigo-kun was energetic. He kept shouting at Abarai-kun to delete the photo. I squealed when Kuchiki-san suddenly punched him in the balls. (I guess she really was serious about the sign). _

_Overall, today was a great day. I hope that things would continue like this from now on. Ever since the time Ichigo-kun rescued me he had been a little distracted. But today, he was back to his usual self. By the way, Kuchiki-san gave me a copy of the picture. It's taken wonderfully, although it is a little embarrassing (/). I'll be putting it on this page so that whatever happens, I'll always remember. _

_May 1_

_Ichigo-kun and I have been going in and out of HEAVEN a lot lately. Ichigo-kun still couldn't get used to travelling by portal. It was because Ishida-kun teased him that sometimes the portal would glitch and only half of the body gets sent through the other side. I assured Ichigo-kun that it only happened once. It took 3 taxi rides from Ikkaku-san before Ichigo-kun decided to travel by portal. We've been hearing reports of Reaper activity and some special agents handling the job. We've been trying to track down Szayel Aporro ever since the incident before I was abducted. Kurosotchi Mayuri-san has been confined in his laboratory since the explosion. The agents tell me that he wanted to create a device that would be able to detect Reapers. It seems he extracted the Dark Matter from one of the Reapers caught by Nemu-san. Although he was a bit disappointed since it wasn't Szayel Aporro. He has been trying to catch the reaper that had tricked him. Ichigo-kun had a bet with Sado-kun as who'll be able to catch Szayel. Now he's kind of enthusiastic in a weird way. I guess Ichigo-kun also wanted to settle the score with Szayel. _

_Good news! Rangiku-san contacted me just now, Urahara-san suddenly decided that we should all go on a trip to the hot springs. Ishida-kun objected because it wasn't practical to go to a hot spring this time of year. But since the majority voted yes, he didn't have much choice (poor Ishida-kun… but I also wanted to go, so… gomene!) Anyway, it's this weekend. Rangiku-san invited me to buy sexy underwear. She said it's a must for any girl going out on a trip. (Hmm… I'm not sure but I guess it's ok to buy cute underwear). Oh, and I'll have to tell Ichigo tomorrow._

_Anyway, I can't wait for the weekend. It'll be my first time to go on a trip with Ichigo-kun (although I wanted it to be just the two of us /… but it's more fun with friends along!) so I'm hoping for the best. At least for now, I could say hello again, halcyon days. _

_I'll write again soon. 3 _

~end of chapter~

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:**

Hello again! Err... it really took a long time before I wrote a new chapter for this. So I had Orihime tell you most of the story. I hope you had fun reading a part of her diary.

Ok, so, what I really want to say is GOMEN! *bows really low* I'm sorry for the unannounced hiatus. I actually planned on posting this a few weeks ago but there were a lot of distractions (ship wars on tumblr, drawing Ichihime fan art, watching jdramas, anime, manga, school, and many more). I'm really going to pull myself together and finish this story beautifully (i'm not sure about this.. is this how i'm suppose to describe it?) Anyway, if I'm not updating this, I make a few one shots and fan art every now and then. You can check them on my tumblr website, .com...

Thank you to those who continue to read despite the long wait. I love you all! Till next chapter!

R&R~


	26. Chapter 26: Colors of the Heart

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach and its characters. They are the property and original creations of Tite Kubo.

**Chapter Twenty-Six: Colors of the Heart**

Things are quite peaceful, was what Ichigo thought as he walked to school. Orihime had gone ahead because of club activities. She had been keeping a safe distance between them since Grimmjow's disappearance.

Ichigo simply thought it was his fault. His thoughts about his mother and father and the recent events in HEAVEN kept him occupied. Although the distance was resolved not too long ago with the help of his friends who even took a commemorative photo of them kissing. He was still a little infuriated with Rukia but it's not like it was a bad thing.

Ichigo didn't dwell too long on the thought. He was glad Orihime was back with him and the problems he had in HEAVEN were cleared up. Now that he's especially working for the agency, he had a greater chance of learning the truth.

He kept watching the door waiting for the sight of his beautiful girlfriend. 'Girlfriend,' he thought. He ended up blushing and stumbling on his chair. 'It's not like we haven't been intimate, why the hell am I still so shy about it.'

Suddenly, stormy gray eyes peaked from the opening of the door. Orihime gestured at Ichigo to come over. Ichigo felt a slight blush creep to his cheeks. He stood up and went over to the excited looking auburn-haired angel.

"What's up?" he asked.

"Did you hear the good news?" asked Orihime.

"About what?"

"Urahara-san said we'll go on a trip to the hot springs this weekend. His treat," replied Orihime enthusiastically.

Ichigo wanted to object but the excitement in the eyes in front of him weakened him. "All right, that'll be great. We could at least relax a little."

"Ah, also," added Orihime. "You can go home ahead of me. Rangiku-san invited me to buy sexy underwear."

Ichigo blushed, "Wha- what's that for? And you didn't have to say it out loud," he stammered. He looked left and right to make sure no one was listening. Orihime just wore a confused expression.

"Ok, ok, I'll go ahead… Just, don't let that woman put things in your head."

Orihime smiled. The two went on ahead but was stopped midway by Ichigo's phone ringing. "It's an unknown number. I wonder who this is," said Ichigo checking his phone. "Hello?" he answered.

Orihime watched as Ichigo picked up the call. Her heart almost stopped as her Kami dropped his phone and suddenly fall to the ground.

*.*.*.*

_A dream._

"_Mama, it hurts…" said a young Ichigo as he lay in bed. _

"_It'll only be few shots ok. I promise it'll be over soon," said Masaki as she held her son's hand. Her eyes well up and she hugged Ichigo tightly. "I'm sorry, it's because of me."_

_Ichigo patted his mom's hair. "Don't cry. It's not Mama's fault." He looked into his mother's tearful eyes and gave a toothy grin, "I'll be all right. I'll get better soon."_

_Ichigo allowed his mother to tie his arms and legs on the bed. He gripped the seams of his sheet. Masaki placed a mouth guard on her son and kissed him on the forehead. Soon men in white lab coats enter the room holding a small black box. _

"_Masaki," called out Isshin. He held out his hand to pull Masaki away._

_The man holding the black box opened it to reveal 3 shots. "This is worth 250 mg," he said to another man across him with white hair that adjusted his glasses and took one of the shots._

"_Masaki-san," he said turning to look at her._

"_It'll take more man power to subdue the effects. It would be better for you to leave the room."_

"_No! I won't leave my son!" objected Masaki._

_The man ignored her pleas. He simply bent over to Ichigo and whispered, "Be strong."_

"_Ryuuken, please, don't make me leave him," said Masaki._

"_You will only get in the way," he replied. "Get her out of here Kurosaki."_

"_Sir, we're ready," said one of the men._

_Ryuuken pulled out the needle and flicked the end. Swirling black liquid reflected in Ichigo's eyes as he watched the man point the needle on his arm. _

_Ichigo screamed in pain, his voice slowly turning into a horrific screech. _

"_Ichigo! No!" cried Masaki as she tried to reach for her child._

"_Kurosaki! I told you to get her out! Now!" yelled Ryuuken._

_Isshin pulled his wife away. Her hands trying to reach her son's outstretched hand. "Ichigo! Ichigo!"_

_Ichigo held out his hand. His vision blurry as he watched his mother and father leave the room. He looked onto his outstretched hand to see it slowly turning black, claws replacing fingers. He could only hear his muffled shouting as his whole body was devoured by the darkness._

Ichigo woke up with sweat all over his body. He could only hear his rapid breathing, his heart pounding on his chest as if wanting to break out. He then quickly realized that he had woken up from a nightmare. He quickly checked his hands. He sighed in relief not because it was normal, but in the end of it were soft caring hands holding on tightly.

Orihime had fallen asleep on his bedside. Ichigo scanned the room. They were in the infirmary which by the looks of the stream of sunlight in the windows, it was already the afternoon.

"Oh, you're awake," said the school doctor suddenly coming out from one of the curtained beds.

"Ah, yeah. Are the classes over?" asked Ichigo.

"It's already last period," replied the doctor. He then looked at the sleeping Orihime. "That girl insisted that she will not leave your side until you wake up."

Ichigo felt his heart throb. He tightened his hold on Orihime's hand. Orihime slowly opened her eyes and was surprised to see Ichigo already awake. "Ichigo-kun!" she exclaimed with joy, though her eyes were welling up with tears.

"I'm sorry to have worried you," he said patting her head.

"You were just stressed and suffered from a little anemia. You'll be fine once you get to eat and sleep right," said the doctor.

"Ah, yeah, sorry for the trouble," replied Ichigo.

"You may leave now. Go straight home, no arcades, clubs or karaoke or part time jobs for today. Go home and rest."

Ichigo and Orihime bowed in gratitude and headed out of the infirmary. The sounds of the school bell resonating in the hallways, the chattering of high school students echoing their direction were the only sounds that filled the atmosphere.

'Maybe I should cancel my appointment with Rangiku-san after all,' thought Orihime as the two walked towards the school gates.

"I'll be fine," said Ichigo as if reading her thoughts. "I'll go straight home and rest. So you don't need to worry too much and go have fun."

"But, Ichigo-kun…"

Without warning a foot came flying towards his rear.

"Ichigo-kun! Are you all right?" exclaimed Orihime.

Ichigo turned to look at the source of his sudden pain and embarrassment. Rukia stood behind him with an annoyed expression. "What do you think you're doing you midget! That hurt!" yelled Ichigo rubbing his sore butt cheeks.

"Hah?! What do you think you're doing?" replied Rukia.

"Oi, Rukia, relax a little," said Renji coming into the scene.

"You could've at least called us before you left. We were worried sick about you," said Rukia. She then came over to Orihime and looked at her intently. "How about you Inoue? Are you ok?"

"Why does is it seem that I'm not the one you're worried about," said Ichigo. He then pulled Orihime away and started walking, "Anyway, Orihime has somewhere she has to go."

"Oh, is it about 'that' place again," said Rukia with a little loneliness in her voice. "You're here but it's like you're never here, Ichigo."

"The same goes for you, Inoue," she added.

"Idiot," said Ichigo flicking her forehead. "It's not like we're driving you away from what we're doing because we want to. We just can't risk anyone's life. We don't want you to get involved."

"Isn't it kind of too late to say it's none of our business," said Renji.

Ichigo turned to Renji, "She told you?" he asked.

"Ichigo, I'm one of your closest friends. Don't you think I wouldn't know? And just so you know, Rukia didn't tell me, I could almost guess that you're hiding something. I don't know what it is but it's probably something big. I'm not as dense as you," replied Renji.

"We may not be able to really help with anything but it's not wrong to rely on us even just a little," said Rukia. "So don't worry, you could tell us anything."

Ichigo looked at his friends with gratitude. "Thanks."

"Jeez, you don't have to be so embarrassed. Anyway, aren't you going to tell us?" asked Rukia.

"About what? Why I fainted?"

"Pfft, no, not that, the doctor said it was due to stress, I can pretty much guess where your stress is coming from. I meant the thing that's going on in HEAVEN."

"What do you mean?" asked Ichigo.

"It's all right, it's all right," said Renji as he patted Ichigo's back. He then took something from his pocket and showed Ichigo two cards that looked exactly like the ticket he got from HEAVEN.

"That's…" Ichigo blurted in surprised.

"We're going with you!" exclaimed Rukia and Renji in unison. "TO THE HOT SPRINGS!"

"Eh?" exclaimed Ichigo and Orihime.

*.*.*.*

"I can't believe Urahara actually gave you an invitation," said Ichigo as he took a bite on his burger. He was seated in front of Renji who was sipping his soda noisily.

"Yeah, and he explained everything too, about you and Inoue. It was the day after our memories of Inoue got erased. After our memories returned, we felt sick, it was probably because we had more memories of Inoue than most of our classmates. Urahara-san came to fix the glitch. He was able to fix Arisawa, but Rukia and I felt like our heads were going to explode. It was really painful. He had no other choice but to revert our memories to the time before he tried to fix it. In the end, we knew about Inoue disappearing from our memories and he had to explain the situation," answered Renji.

"Ah, that's a pretty long explanation. How troublesome," Ichigo said. "Whatever, but I'm warning you not to get involved, you hear me pineapple head."

"The one who likes to meddle in your affairs is Rukia. You should warn her."

"Tsk. As if she'd be obedient," said Ichigo.

"Now imagine how I feel," said Renji. "By the way, those girls, what were they were fussing about something to buy for the hot springs. Any idea what it is?"

Ichigo suddenly blushed at his comment. "What? As if I have any idea about what girls would buy."

"Heh… then why are you turning red like a tomato?"

"Am not!" yelled Ichigo.

Renji smirked and whispered, "Is it underwear?"

Ichigo blush all shades of red. He had been trying his best to avoid the topic and imagining it at all costs.

"I like the frilly kind. It suits Rukia," said Renji.

Ichigo stammered, "You—you've…"

"Nope, but I imagine her in it though. Any healthy teenage boy would," said Renji.

"That's just disrespectful. I don't want to be lumped with the likes of you," commented Ichigo.

"Really now? Imagine Inoue wearing a pink lacey underwear with white frills and a nice bra cup accenting her large bosom."

Ichigo choked back his saliva but he could almost imagine it. He quickly shook the thought and gave Renji a punch. "Just shut up. Fucking pervert. I can't believe you just said that about my girlfriend!"

"What about me?" asked a cheery voice from behind.

"O-Orihime," stuttered Ichigo.

"Wow, you done already?" asked Renji as Rukia settled herself beside him.

"Yeah, Matsumoto-san is really good at these choosing stuff, and look!" exclaimed Rukia with glee as she shoved a bright purple underwear patterned with bunnies. "It's a chappy limited edition underwear!"

"What the FUCK?! Stop showing off your underwear! Don't you have shame!" complained Ichigo. Renji on the other hand simply admired the underwear.

"Oh, I wanted to show Ichigo-kun my new pair. Rangiku-san said you'll definitely be blown away!" said Orihime smiling brightly.

Ichigo's whole body stiffened and his face redder than a ripe strawberry. "UGGH! MATSUMOTO! YOU FREAKING BITCH!" he simply exclaimed in embarrassment.

*.*.*.*

"Today's the day!" exclaimed Urahara in excitement. He adjusted his sun glasses and hauled his luggage inside the bus. He noticed Ichigo seated a few chairs behind him. "You seem exhausted."

"Shut up, I don't want to hear any stupid comments especially from you," replied Ichigo a little sickly.

"Why must I be part of this stupid trip?" commented Hitsugaya as he came in. Matsumoto came bouncing behind him and pulled him to a seat across Ichigo and Orihime's.

"Oh, Ichigo~" called out Matsumoto.

"Shut up! I'm not in the mood to hear weird things from you," said Ichigo.

Matsumoto giggled but then noticed Orihime's absence, "Where's Orihime?"

"She went to pick up our friends," he replied then yawned noisily.

"Didn't get much sleep last night? I bet Orihime's been on your mind the whole time," said Matsumoto.

"I said shut up! Because of you…. I…" he replied cutting himself short then saying, "Never mind, just leave me alone."

Matsumoto simply laughed it off but her laugh had a rather sinister ring to it.

Orihime and the others arrived in time and as soon as the preparations were made, the bus went off. As usual, HEAVEN had its own way of moving around. They travelled by air and this time, casually, since to Ichigo's relief Urahara gets motion sickness; so he gets to sleep on the bus.

Ichigo woke up to Orihime's soft touch. He had fallen asleep on her shoulder. He quickly got up, blush creeping to his face. "Uhhh… sorry," he said shyly.

Orihime giggled and said, "It's all right. By the way, we're almost there." She pointed out to her window and Ichigo held in a gasp as he saw a beautiful mountainous region just below them. The bus descended slowly as the greenery came closer.

"WHOA!" exclaimed Rukia and Renji in surprise as they got off the bus. The place was huge and it looked very traditional.

"Welcome," said a voice from behind them.

"Unohana-san,it's been a long time!" greeted Urahara.

"Likewise, Urahara-san," she replied. "Everyone," she said turning to the guests. "Welcome to Minazuki Hot Springs."

"Somehow the name gives me chills," whispered Renji to Ichigo.

"The old woman too, she seems strict," said Ichigo.

Unohana turned to look at the two boys. "Old woman?" she mouthed out then gave an evil smile that raised the hair on Ichigo and Renji's skin. 'Scary,' they thought in unison.

Unohana showed them to their rooms. They reached a high ceilinged lobby which had three pathways. On the left lead to the men's dorm room while the right lead to the women's rooms. The pathway on the center leads to the dining hall and the baths.

"We only have 3 types of baths, one for the women, one for the men and some private baths. There are 20 baths in total labeled according to their type. I have rules here; men are not allowed to peak and are not allowed to go into women's rooms after 9pm curfew and vice versa. If any of you disobey," she said turning to look at everyone. Suddenly they wore horrified expressions. "…there will be dire consequences."

Urahara gulped and said, "Ahehe, strict as always Unohana-san."

"Of course, Urahara-san. You know well of the implications of disobeying me?" she said calmly but with a hint of coldness.

Urahara laughed nervously and called out to everyone. "All right, you heard the woman, no disobeying the rules. You can just go settle your rooms over at the receptionist table, Unohana-san and her assistant Isane-san will help you. You can do whatever you want; we'll meet at 12nn for lunch."

Everyone cheered and quickly took their room keys. Orihime, Matsumoto and Rukia decided to stay in the same room.

"This'll be fun!" said Matsumoto. She pulled the two girls behind her as they ran off to find their room. Renji, Ichigo and Hitsugaya decided to go together.

"Why do I have to be dragged with you?" asked Hitsugaya with an annoyed face as they looked for their room.

"Well those girls decided to go together, so why not do the same," said Renji. He unlocked the side of the door and slid it open. The room was a traditional Japanese room. It had a beautiful view from the veranda.

"This is cool! Do you guys get these benefits a lot?" asked Renji as he threw his bag to one side and run off to the veranda.

"It's a pain in the ass if you ask me. We could be finishing paper works instead of lounging about," Hitsugaya replied.

Ichigo and Renji looked at Hitsugaya as if they were sorry for him.

"Relax Toushiro, it's not like it's an everyday thing," said Ichigo.

Hitsugaya's eye twitched, "And when did we get so close that you'd call me so familiarly?"

"Ahahaha, chill a little dude. We're here to have some fun, you're just too tense." Renji said as he placed an arm around Hitsugaya's shoulder.

"Come on, this place is pretty big, let's have some fun!" snickered Renji as he pulled the opposing Hitsugaya out of the room. Ichigo followed.

As they left the room, a shadow across a tree from the veranda swiftly moved leaving fallen leaves on the veranda floor.

*.*.*.*

"Night comes quickly here doesn't it?" said Rukia as she watched the sunset.

Orihime was a little quiet. Rukia noticed this and patted her on the back.

"Are you still worried about that stupid Ichigo?" said Rukia. "I think I've given him enough beating."

"It's all right, I can understand that he needs time with his friends too," replied Orihime. She had been trying to call out to Ichigo all day to ask him if he could have snacks with her in the garden, or if they could walk by the lake near the villa or just simply have a minute with him. But it seemed to her that Ichigo had been avoiding her. He would always make up an excuse like, _"Renji asked me to check out this cool place at the back."_ If she asks to come with, he would completely reject her by saying, _"It's all right, it's a boy's thing and I wouldn't want to trouble you with petty things."_ Then he would run off to who knows where. And then even during lunch, Ichigo didn't sit with Orihime.

Orihime felt tears well up. "There must've been something I said or did that made him uncomfortable," said Orihime.

Rukia bit her lip. "How about we go and join Matsumoto-san in the bath?" She said holding Orihime's hand gently and eagerly.

Orihime smiled and she quickly regained her composure. The two hurried to the bath at the farthest behind the gardens. It was less crowded and the view was perfect.

"Oh, you've decided to join in," said Matsumoto as the two girls entered wrapped in their white fluffy towels. They sat on the bath chairs and washed themselves. Nemu offered to wash their backs but they graciously rejected her.

Hinamori came in a few minutes later and joined them. Suddenly it became a little loud just on the other side of the fence. Renji and Ichigo were having an argument over a mascot and Urahara-san was humming an old enka song.

"Ahhh~" said Matsumoto loudly. It was peaceful here just before you guys came in.

There was a quick silence followed by a loud retort, "Ehhh~ Matsumoto-san is all alone in the bath?" called out Urahara.

"No Urahara-san. Orihime-chan, Rukia-chan, Momo-chan and Nemu-chan are with me," she replied playfully.

"Orihime!" croaked Ichigo. There was a quick silence then a murmur, "I better get going."

"Where do you think you're going?" said Renji. There was a slight sound of water as if someone slipped then flesh hitting the ground.

"OW! What do you think you're doing—EEP!" Ichigo yelped then there was a slight silence.

"This is a place for relaxing," said Mayuri. It seemed he did something to Ichigo that made him silent.  
"Why don't we enjoy the company of the women on the other side, shall we?"

Everyone else agreed and they went on doing their tasks.

On the men's side of the fence, Ichigo caressed his somewhat swollen butt cheeks. Mayuri had pinched him really hard and threatened to do it again with a silent stare unless he quiet down. He took a dip in the pool and gave out a heavy sigh.

"You seem to be troubled Kurosaki-kun~" said Urahara in a sing-song voice.

"It's none of your business old man. Why don't you just go on and sing your song like a regular old man," he said sinking half his head in the spring and playfully made bubbles with his mouth.

"Ohoho~ I sense girl troubles."

"Shut up!"

"Don't mind Ichigo. He's just being shy about his urges as a man," said Renji floating casually between the two.

Ichigo had the urge to drown Renji but stopped himself. In the end, he admitted that what Renji said was a little true. Ever since the talk about the underwear, he has become more aware of Orihime. Every bit of her makes his heart go wild. He disliked the fact that he kept thinking of her whole being, becoming his.

"Kurosaki-kun~," called out Urahara interrupting his thoughts. "I may not be the right person to say this but. Be careful. In love as you may be, there are consequences to putting those thoughts into actions."

'As if I don't know that already,' he thought. Ichigo merely sank his head under the soothing hot bath.

The girls on the other hand have been very chatty. Matsumoto had been talking about drinking sake after they take a bath and eat dinner. Rukia kept complimenting everyone's breast size.

"Oh! Matsumoto-san! What do you eat to get them to be that big?!" she exclaimed imitating the breast size on her own chest.

"SA~KE~ of course!" replied Matsumoto.

Renji and Urahara had been listening closely to the conversation from the other side of the fence, their ears pressed on the damp wood. Ishida who joined them not too long ago hissed at them, "Have you no shame! Stop being nosy and get back here."

"Orihime-chan's breasts are nice too. They're very round and soft…" complimented Hinamori. "Mine are just…"

Hitsugaya who was quietly bathing suddenly raised an eyebrow. Ichigo came up from under the water and felt like what he heard was making him feel hotter than the spring.

"I'm done," he said getting up. Renji pulled him back and now he was down on his knees huddled with the rest of the men.

"Have we forgotten the tradition of many men? We are in a hot springs, just beside the women's. This is a fine day to fulfill our destinies," said Urahara, he was now holding a fan to his face.

"Don't lump us with the likes of you," chorused Ishida and Hitsugaya. Mayuri on the other hand simply wore an expression of interest.

Urahara raised his head from the huddle like a mere cat. "Ohoho… boys, boys," he said in a playful whisper, "Do you have any idea what is beyond that wall? It's something called paradise."

He then raised his hands into the sky and the men followed looking up as if a thought bubble had popped up. "Imagine all the women there, bathing, giggling, and their silky smooth skin glistening in the moonlight; the steam of the hot spring leaving sweet nectar of moist on their beautiful skins."

Everyone blush beet red at the thought of the girls' bodies the way Urahara had described them.

"This is stupid. Stop it already," Ichigo said attempting to escape Renji's clutches.

"You're not going anywhere. Admit it, you want a glimpse of that paradise too," said Renji.

"Shut up! Why in the world would I want to peep at my own girlfriend? And who said I'd allow anyone of you to lay even a single glance at her!"

"Unohana-san will definitely be angry," said Ishida but he was now included with the huddling boys.

"Don't be naive Ishida," said Urahara. "Let me demonstrate to you how we're going to do this."

Uarhara clapped his hands and from the water came a giant young man, "SADO-KUN~" he called out.

Sado went and stood over them. He picked up Urahara who was then tall enough to reach the top of the fence as he stood on Sado's shoulders. He held two fake tree branches and covered his face. "Alas, paradise!" he exclaimed.

Ichigo's blood rose and he pulled Urahara's legs from Sado's shoulders. "Stop that you fucking perverted old man!" he yelled. Unfortunately, Sado also became off balanced and he accidentally pushed the fence bringing it down with him.

When the dust cleared Renji quickly realized the commotion they caused and turned to look at the women's side of the bath.

"It's empty," he said looking around.

"I don't think so…" said a frightened Ishida. They all turned to look at a smiling Unohana. Here hair covering her intimate parts, she stood up from the spring, an evil dark aura surrounding her.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" cried the men in horror.

*.*.*.*

"The boys are taking their time in the bath. It's already dinner," said Rukia. The dining hall was a bit crowded in other tables. Theirs on the other hand had empty seats. They glanced over at Yoruichi at the center table who ate peacefully by herself as the seat beside her stayed empty.

"I wonder what's happened to Ichigo-kun," said Orihime. "After Unohana-san called us for dinner, it was quite noisy on their end of the bath."

"They're probably just playing around or something," said Matsumoto slightly drunk. She had been hitting the sake offered by Isane for each table. "It's a good thing you don't drink, neh? More for me!"

Renji and the other men entered the room. They wore bandages and looked bruised and beaten up. Orihime raised her head to look for Ichigo but he was nowhere in sight.

Orihime lowered her head, 'Ichigo-kun probably doesn't want to eat with me right now. Something must be really bothering him. But I told him I would wait till he has the heart to tell me.'

Matsumoto watched as Orihime sulked. She then looked at the sake she was holding and a smirk planted itself on her face. She placed an ample amount of sake in Orihime's tea.

"Mah~Mah~," she said patting Orihime on the back and offering the tea. "Let's just eat and drink up and forget all our silly troubles."

Orihime took a sip of tea. "This tea tastes nice,' she complimented and drank the rest of the cup.

"Where's Ichigo?" asked Rukia.

"He said he'll be right over. He's been acting like a girl since we came here," answered Renji.

"And what's that supposed to mean huh?" Rukia said pulling Renji's ponytail. The two lovebirds bickered. Orihime watched in envy.

"Hmph," she whispered. Matsumoto raised an eyebrow at the sudden comment. "If Ichigo-kun doesn't want to eat at the dining hall, I'll just take the food to him."

Orihime grabbed food from the table and mixed it all into one plate. She then took a tube of wasabi and put it on top of the pile like an icing on a cake. "Ichigo-kun will love this!"

Orihime excused herself. She felt a little woozy standing up but she denied any offer of help. Matsumoto and the others watched as she went out of the dining hall.

"What did you do?" asked Hitsugaya with a suspicious look.

"I didn't do anything… Must be the heat from the bath," lied Matsumoto sipping her sake like tea. 'Good luck Ichigo,' she thought.

*.*.*.*

Ichigo laid himself on the tatami, his robe loose showing his bare chest. He sighed out heavily and felt the fast beating of his heart. 'We've been together for months now, why is it that I'm only conscious of her now?' he thought. He wanted to beat himself up for being dense as a log, which Renji had pointed out to him as they got out of the bath. Ichigo placed his arms over his head and closed his eyes. 'I want her. Every bit of her… is it wrong to think like that?'

"Ichigo-kun?" said Orihime.

Ichigo's eyes popped open and sure enough Orihime was looking back at him with curious eyes.

"O-O-Orihime!" he yelped quickly sitting up. "What are you doing here?"

"Eh… You didn't go to the dining hall for dinner. So I brought you some food~" she said with glee shoving a full plate of mixed food in front of him. Orihime kept swaying a she handed the platter.

"Orihime… are you all right?"

"Hmm? Oh, I'm fine, I'm fine. Go ahead Ichigo-kun, eat up."

"Umm… Thanks, but it's all right, I'll go to the dining hall after I rest a bit. You should get back to your room."

Orihime pouted at Ichigo's comment. "You're driving me away again."

"Eh? No... It's just that, you're not allowed to be roaming here in the boys' quarters," he replied.

Orihime continued to pout. "Don't you want my company, Ichigo-kun? And besides, it's not curfew yet." She then laid her hand on the tatami mat and slowly crawled over to Ichigo; her cleavage peak through the opening of her robe.

Ichigo turned his head away, his cheeks stained red. "It's not like that." He then took a peak at Orihime, who's only a few inches from him now.

"O-Orihime…" he said. He watched as Orihime slowly moved her lips towards him, her robe slowly slipping off her shoulders. Ichigo clamped his eyes shut then all of a sudden he smelled sake. He quickly grabbed Orihime's shoulders and pushed her away so that she was facing him properly.

"Are you drunk?!" he asked wildly.

"Eh? What are you talking about Ichigo-kun?"

He then bit his lip and fixed Orihime's robe. "What is wrong with you? Why do you keep doing this to me?" he said, his voice hard and serious.

Orihime simply looked at him in a confused manner.

"This is frustrating," he said bowing his head. He punched the floor on his side and quickly stood up. "I don't want to talk when you're like this. This isn't you. This is some girl created by that stupid Matsumoto. I'm sorry Orihime. I should probably go." Ichigo headed for the door.

"NO!" cried Orihime. Her sudden cry made her sober. She turned to look up at Ichigo. Tears running down her face, "I'm sorry. I knew Rangiku-san put sake in my drink. I thought that maybe a little would boost my confidence to confront you."

Ichigo looked at her gently with his brown eyes. Orihime looked back with teary ones.

"You have been avoiding me since we arrived here. I know I did say I would wait until you have the heart to tell me your problems but…" she said, sobbing and choking in between. "I thought you would have been considerate enough to at least spend your time with me. Rely on me. Let me ease your pain."

Ichigo was somehow confused now. He then realized what she meant and quickly said, "No. It's not about that!"

"Then what is it, Ichigo-kun?"

Ichigo stood there silent. He felt his body tremble. His woman was crying in front of him and all because he was confused and yearning for her.

He fell to his knees and bowed. "I'm sorry!" he exclaimed. "What you said, it's not it. You have eased my pain. Time and time again you are the only one who would make me forget about my troubles."

There was a quick pause then he looked up, staring at her stormy grey eyes and continued, "I… I love you more than anything. And this is troubling me because I want you more and more. Every bit of you… But I want to respect you and I can't do that because I'll always have the urge to take you…"

Orihime tried to comprehend the meaning behind his words. Her heart started to beat really fast, her breathing shallow. Somehow her body understood the intensity of his words. She moved towards him and caressed his cheeks.

"Every bit of me… please take it. I'm yours," she said.

Ichigo breathed deeply and moved to kiss her. His kiss had so much passion that Orihime had to quickly break out of it to breath.

"I… We shouldn't do this," Ichigo said. Orihime never let go of his cheeks. "It's ok," she whispered.

Ichigo kissed her once more but more gently this time. Orihime felt her mouth open by itself to allow Ichigo's tongue to explore. He brushed his tongue with hers and Orihime felt like melting into his arms right then and there. She tilted her head slightly and closed her lips around his tongue. She sucked gently then bit him lightly on the lips. The two broke free of their kiss; their breaths shallow and hot.

Ichigo slowly laid her on the floor. Her robe slightly loose, he looked at her vulnerable position, her eyes watching him, waiting and wanting. He didn't need to ask again if she was sure. He licked his lips, the taste of sake filled his mouth but it was sweet and enticing.

He then moved on top of Orihime. He brushed his lips on hers then moved his mouth to her cheeks, slowly moving down to her neck. She gave a soft moan which made Ichigo even more excited. His heart pounding at his chest at her every cry of pleasure, her moans growing louder at his every kiss.

Ichigo's tongue licked the side of her neck and he felt her shiver. He lifted his head and gave a quick smirk. Orihime playfully pouted. She then stared at the bareness of his chest. She put her hands on his strong chest tracing the collar bones and moving towards his loudly pounding heart.

"Ichigo-kun…" she said sweetly. She then moved her hands to remove the top of his robe. "I also want every bit of Ichigo-kun."

Orihime blushed madly as she said those words. Ichigo suddenly hugged her and she squeaked adorably.

"Eh? Eh? Ichigo-kun?" she stuttered.

Ichigo then bit the side of her shoulder and she moaned. He placed his hands on the collar of her robe and slowly moved to undress her. He then stopped and was surprised at what he saw.

He flapped open the rest of her robe and took in her being. Orihime was wearing a black pair of underwear with hot pink laces lining it. Ichigo simply gazed at her beauty. Orihime felt a little conscious and covered her bra with her arms.

"It's embarrassing Ichigo-kun. At least say something."

"It does look very beautiful. I'm definitely blown away," he said. Then he removed her arms from her breasts. "But I think it's a bit of a hindrance."

He then reached for her back and looked for the clasp. Orihime giggled. She removed his hands and said, "It's in front silly." She placed his hands on the clasp of her bra and he unhooked it. He gulped then turned his head, 'Kami-sama. You have made me a lucky man. For that I thank you,' he thought quickly and returned his gaze to Orihime.

He trailed his lips from her neck to her collar bones. His hot breath touching the top of her breasts as he moved to kiss her bare chest. Ichigo looked up at Orihime's redden face, opened his mouth and softly let his tongue touch the nipples of her breasts. She moaned loudly. Orihime felt her body enjoying every bit of Ichigo's movement.

Ichigo cupped the other in his hand and teasingly caressed it. He squeezed lightly and enjoyed the voice of his woman's pleasure. He then moved his mouth to the other. Sucking gently and playfully, his member aching for more of her moaning. Without thought, he took Orihime's hand and placed it in between his legs. Orihime gasped and flung her hand away.

"What was that?" she said. Ichigo didn't know what to say to her.

"Ummm…" he simply muttered.

Orihime giggled and pushed Ichigo so that now she was on top of him. "Silly Ichigo-kun," she said. They teach us anatomy in the agency as well."

It was Orihime's turn to pleasure him. She kissed him passionately and let her mouth travel his body. He groaned in excitement. "O-Orihime."

Orihime placed her hand on Ichigo's throbbing cock. His underwear a hindrance to the movement of her fingers. Ichigo's mind swirled at every stroke of Orihime's hand.

"I can't take it anymore!" he exclaimed moving to pin down Orihime on the floor.

They stared at each other, both desiring the other, their eyes reflecting the colors of their hearts.

"Please be gentle," Orihime whispered.

Ichigo lowered his body, his hands moving to open her legs, her body inviting him to enter. He then touched the seam of the garment, the only thing in between his desire to fully make her his. He placed a finger on the garter and pulled down…

….

….

….

"CRASH!"

Ichigo and Orihime jolted in surprise.

"Fucking woman! You can't even do a proper landing!" said a familiar voice.

"Shut up! It's because you were being a scaredy-cat!" yelled another.

As the smoke cleared, Ichigo and Orihime sat staring at two bickering familiar faces.

"Grimmjow," Ichigo said in a confused tone.

"Lavi-san," said Orihime with the same tone.

Grimmjow and Lavi looked at the two, their eyes wide in shock.

Grimmjow turned to look another way and Lavi coughed. "I think we came in a really wrong time."

"AAAHHH!" Ichigo exclaimed and quickly covered Orihime.

"Whatever, there's not much to look at anyway," said Grimmjow. "Moreover," he then said, his tone changing. "It doesn't matter what timing it is. This is important."

"What is it?"

"It's your father Ichigo," Lavi said. "He's been taken by the reapers."

~end of chapter~

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:**

Yes. Even I can't believe this chapter is over 6000+ words long. Well it is a special chapter *wink*wink*

Whew. I've never written something so intense like that. It took me a while since I had to leaf through other fanfics to see how they wrote it. I keep wondering how other writers manage to write that. I keep leaving my work and pacing the room just so I wouldn't start hyperventilating at the thought of my otp having their way with each other. I mean, they're so pure and I can't even proofread it and now I'm wondering if I suddenly made them OOC or I'm doing something wrong. Writing this chapter is so frustrating! (I'm sorry, I had to let that out).

Please tell me if you disliked anything I've wrote in this chapter especially the Ichihime intimate moment. I'll try to find a way to make it more subtle. I still hoped you liked this. It's a big step in their relationship and a new challenge is unfolding. Tune in for the next chapter!

Thank you so much to everyone who's been reading, reviewing, following and favoring this story.

R&R~


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